The Dilemma of Balancing the Administration of Justice and the Preservation of Confidentiality in the Mediation Process

The courts and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) refer to mediation as a procedure in which communications between the disputants is facilitated by a neutral third party (mediator) to reach a mutually acceptable settlement to the dispute in question.1 Mediation is gaining momentum as an alternative method to litigation in resolving commercial disputes.2 Stamato submits that it has become the most accelerated form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR),3 since litigants are currently concerned with settling disputes without a trial; court claims belong to the last resort.4 Private negotiation and settlement of potentially litigated disputes are unequivocally favoured by public policy.5 Thus, ADR methods like arbitration and mediation are becoming popular and are being incorporated into the conventional judicial litigation process.6