COURT ORDERED MEDIATION

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The Georgia Constitution of 1983 mandates that the judicial branch of government provide “speedy, efficient, and inexpensive resolution of disputes and prosecutions.” As part of a continuing effort to carry out this constitutional mandate the Supreme Court of Georgia established a Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution under the joint leadership of the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and the President of the State Bar of Georgia on September 26, 1990.

The Supreme Court charged the Commission to explore the feasibility of using court- annexed or court-referred alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes to complement existing dispute resolution methods. The order creating the Commission directed that the Commission gather information, implement experimental pilot programs, and prepare recommendations for a statewide, comprehensive ADR system.

This court has now received the recommendations of the Commission and promulgates the following rules to establish a statewide plan for the use of alternative dispute mechanisms by the courts of Georgia.

I. DEFINITIONS.

The term Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) refers to any method other than litigation for resolution of disputes. A definition of some common ADR terms follows.

Neutral. The term “neutral” as used in these rules refers to an impartial person who facilitates discussions and dispute resolution between disputants in mediation, case evaluation or early neutral evaluation, and arbitration, or who presides over a summary jury trial or mini trial. Thus, mediators, case evaluators, and arbitrators are all classified as “neutrals.”

Mediation. Mediation is a process in which a neutral facilitates settlement discussions between parties. 

The neutral has no authority to make a decision or impose a settlement upon the parties.* The neutral attempts to focus the attention of the parties upon their needs and interests rather than upon rights and positions. Although in court programs the parties may be ordered to attend a mediation session, any settlement is entirely voluntary. In the absence of settlement the parties lose none of their rights to a jury trial.

* Arbitration. Arbitration differs from mediation in that an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators renders a decision after hearing an abbreviated version of the evidence. In non-binding arbitration, either party may demand a trial within a specified period. The essential difference between mediation and arbitration is that arbitration is a form of adjudication, whereas mediation is not.