Bangladesh Institute of Arbitration Mediator’s Code of Conduct

1. General Principles:

   Mediators must act honestly while dealing with the participants in the mediation. They cannot have any personal interest in the terms of any settlement agreement and shall not be biased towards any individual or institution involved in mediation. They shall be reasonably available at and when they have been requested by the mediating parties and be assured that the parties are informed about the mediation process in which the mediators are involved.

2. Mediator’s Responsibilities to the Parties:
   1. Informed Consent

      It is incumbent upon the mediators to ensure that all the parties understand the role of the mediator, the nature of the mediation process and the procedure to be utilised. Prior to the beginning of the negotiation each party’s consent to proceed with mediation is required to be obtained.

   2. Impartiality

      The mediators shall always be free from favouritism or bias either by words or action and must at all time be committed to serve all the participants as opposed to a single party. The mediator should disclose to the participants any affiliations which the mediator may have or have previously had with any participant and obtain all parties” consent to proceed as mediator.

   3. Confidentiality

      The Mediator shall inform each and every participants of the mediation the extent to which communications connected with the mediation process shall remain confidential, including any special confidentiality attached to private meetings.

   4. Suspension or Termination of Mediation

      The mediator shall inform all the participants that they have the right to withdraw from mediation for any reason and at any time. The Mediator shall suspend or terminate the mediation if the mediator believes that the participants are unable or unwilling to take part effectively in the mediation process.

3. Mediators Responsibility to Defining the Procedure
   1. Where in a mediation a substantial legal issues exist and the disputants personally represents their own individual interests, the mediator has a duty to encourage the participants to obtain individual legal advice if it is reasonably essential for the parties to reach an informed agreement.
   2.  All actual and potential conflict of interest reasonably known to the Mediator shall be disclosed by the mediator to the participants and unless the parties agrees otherwise the mediator shall decline to mediate right after the disclosure.
   3. The mediator shall offer each mediation participant a full opportunity to effectively express his or her interests.
   4. The mediator shall explain to all the participants that mediation is distinct for arbitration, legal representation or therapy and that the mediator cannot decide any issues for the parties.
   5. Unless the all the mediation participants give their consent in writing a mediator shall not engage in any non meditative role related to the subject matter of the mediating dispute.
4. Mediator’s Responsibilities to the Mediation Process and the Public

   As Mediators are regarded as knowledgeable in the process of mediation, they have a duty to use their knowledge to help people to learn about mediation; to make mediation accessible to those wants to use it; to correct abuses and to develop their professional skills and talent.