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Speaking to the Jordanian Business Association

Talhouni: Mediation Is an Effective Alternative to Dispute Resolution

Amman- Former Minister of Justice and current member of the Jordanian Senate H.E. Dr. Bassam Talhouni said that: mediation is the future and an effective alternative to dispute resolution out of Courts. During a panel discussion on civil disputes organized by the Jordan Businessmen Association on Thursday evening, Dr. Talhouni reiterated that: mediation seeks to establish good relations between the parties to the conflict as it ensures finding innovative and applicable solutions to effectively and expeditiously resolve conflicts out of Courts. H.E also emphasised the importance of mediation and conciliation by encouraging traders to include it as a legal provision in their business contracts and agreements as well as by helping to raise awareness of it as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism out of courts. Dr. Talhouni called for development of a clear framework for mediation procedures in order to effectuate the role of mediation in the Kingdom. This also includes

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the establishment of an Independent Mediation Centre as well as the provision of assistance and support to the judiciary following the passage of Mediation law in Parliament. According to H.E Dr. Talhouni mediation is defined as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism with the advantage of bridging opinions and views. It’s fast and is carried out by specialists in the field. During the session, H.E Dr. Bassam Talhouni elaborated on the differences between mediation and arbitration procedures, stating that decisions in mediation are not binding on the parties to the dispute, whereas in arbitration, they are. The role of the mediator is simply to bring conflicting views closer in order to reach an agreement. Furthermore, mediation does not preclude the parties’ rights to resort to Court. By contrast, the arbitrator is bound to resolve disputes definitively, in which case the decision is made binding on both parties to the conflict and waives the parties’ rights to resort to Court. H.E. stated that the effectiveness of mediation in the Kingdom does not exceed 3% while in the United States it reaches up to 90%, Notably mediation has a great Chace of success in cases involving: labour law disputes, compensation insurance, landlord and tenant law, trademark and intellectual property as well as unfair competition. H.E Dr. Talhouni pointed to a law in force for mediation to resolve civil disputes No. (12) of 2006, which contains myriad points, the most important of which is that where mediation breaks down because of the parties’ failure to appear before the specialised Court, any of the parties involved in mediation can levy a fine in the range of JOD 100-500 in the Court of Conciliation and JOD 250 -1000 in the Court of First Instance. The current law maintains that mediation proceedings remain confidential, and cannot be objected to as regards concessions made during the mediation session or through judicial mediation. Recovery of half the amount of fees is limited only to the Courts of First Instance, not Court of Appeal. However, a draft Mediation law currently exists for the settlement of civil disputes that, which includes the establishment of a Mediation Centre and the subsequent listing of its mediators or conciliators, the Centre’s duties and responsibilities, rules of procedure defining duration of proceedings and grounds for mediation. The draft mediation law contains a definition of those who are responsible for the application of the law, alongside their duties and responsibilities and the possibility of resorting to mediation either at the first stage of Court hearing or at the appeal. It includes the establishment of a Jordanian Centre for Mediation in order to serve the business sector and the articulation of a provision to allow the parties to refer any disputes between them to the Centre for resolution with

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the possibility of recovering the full legal costs in the event of reaching an agreement before the submission of evidence, otherwise only half that amount will be recovered. In the same context, H.E. Dr. Talhouni provided an overview of the range of electronic services and smart mobile applications offered by the Ministry of Justice to Jordanian citizens in this regard. On a different note, Mr. Hamdi Tabbaa, President of the organisation stated that: Mediation is regarded as an advanced method for dispute resolution outside courts, particularly in civil, commercial and investment disputes. Jordan endorsed it in line with the recommendations of the National Strategy for the Development of the Jordanian Judiciary, noting further that mediation is a civilised and refined method of resolving disputes amicably between adversaries through compromise and conciliation without coercion or use of force, but rather through flexible procedures that allow individuals to resume their work interests, and hence, saving them time, effort and money in the process as well as giving them ample opportunity to build their society. Mr. Tabbaa elaborated that mediation and arbitration as alternative methods for dispute resolution have become integral to Jordan’s judicial system due to the fact that they respond to the legal requirements of our times and are in line with the requirements of a liberalised economy and its associated transformations in terms of legal and organisational restructuring in trade and investments with the view to secure the stability of international and local transactions and the security of the judiciary. He also emphasized that experience proved that what is achieved through arbitration and other alternative methods for the amicable resolution of disputes is efficient justice, more importantly, it comes up with innovative and creative solutions at the lowest costs, in addition to the fact that it maintains the confidentiality of the process and the continuity of relations between the parties in dispute. Mr. Tabbaa pointed out that mediators and conciliators of civil disputes in trade and investment are impartial and neutral, objective and experienced professionals, competent and with integrity. They employ their skills to conduct negotiations and settle disputes between parties amicably. Further, they possess superior knowledge in drafting provisions and final decision of the dispute settlement. He also stressed that mediators need to keep up with current developments in local and international legislations in arbitration both at the level of the United Nations and the International Chamber of Commerce stating that the

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complexities of trade and investments at the local and world stage are increasing by the day. The President of the association further emphasised the need to develop mediation and arbitration legislations to meet international standards with a view to enhance the role of the judiciary and the judges in that regard, especially those dealing with mediation and arbitration. There is an urgent need to spread a culture of awareness and understanding of mediation and arbitration proceedings in civil disputes, its positive impact by way of encouraging people to resort to it for purposes of alleviating the workload on the judicial system and saving public money in addition to strengthening the capacity and capabilities of mediators in technical and mediation skills, foreign languages and negotiation skills. He called on the legislature to issue the requisite legal licenses for arbitrators, Centres and regulators and the provision of sufficient scientific and practical skills in that regard with a view to institutionalise the profession within clear guidelines and regulations so that it is guaranteed a place in the local judicial system as well as its successful application in order to achieve optimal results that subsequently bolster the rule of law and court rulings. Published by: Al-Ghad Newspaper. Date: 8.Feb.2017.