A time- and cost-effective legal alternative whereby parties to a dispute can appoint a qualified neutral third party to act as a mediator and facilitate an agreed settlement regarding divorce, maintenance, parenting, elder, education or family dispute. The mediator assists parties to clarify issues and explore areas of compromise to resolve the dispute with no need to battle it out in court.
An alternative, voluntary legal process that businesses or companies can use to resolve potential labour conflict that occurs in many types of relationships at work. All workplace types of disputes, or negotiations at all different levels, can be formally mediated in the workplace by an experienced mediator and remain part of the labour process, because ‘they end the problem and not the relationship’.
In South Africa, there is a substantial scope for commercial mediation as a key solution for businesses to resolve their commercial disputes. The structure of the commercial mediation process offers parties to the dispute the opportunity of resolving their disputes as well as saving a business relationship.
Going through the litigation process can be unnerving for both doctors and patients. It can lead to stress and anxiety as well as financial hardship and even reputational damage. Medical mediation is now being used to resolve disputes and is seen as a more attractive legal alternative. Working towards a conciliatory outcome rather than a combative one, while mediation is no guarantee of avoiding conflict, there is more of an emphasis on bringing disputing parties together in agreement.