Johnson, Sean, and Raffles, Peter (2008) Mediator professionalisation: value claiming or value creating. In: Australasian Law Teachers Association 63rd Annual Conference: the law, the environment, Indigenous peoples: climate for change?. p. 69. From: 2008 Australasian Law Teachers Association Conference: the law, the environment, Indigenous peoples: climate for change?, 6-9 July 2008, Cairns, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

In an effort to establish standards of conduct for so called mediators, the new National Practice Standards and Approval Standards (the Standards) have taken a narrow view of the field of mediation and endeavoured to lay claim to the title "mediator". The claiming of the title of Accredited Mediator may well be the equivalent of lodging an intellectual property claim over a title for the purposes of establishing a profession, much in the same was as the terms barrister, solicitor or Australian Legal Practitioner are used by the legal profession.

This process of professionalising is the creation of an identity to define and unite eligible practitioners, but it is also an exclusionary mechanism. The setting of standards achieve a number of purposes one of which is to define the scope and standard of conduct expected of practitioners. This facilitates consumer reliance on the existence of standards as a proxy to fill the void of their own information opacity.

This paper discusses some of the exclusionary consequences arising from the definition of mediation and the Standards. Issues considered will include the use of conflict resolution models which may not comply with the definition of mediation in the Standards; consideration of the impact of voluntary compliance; consideration of the exemption for use of "blended" models and the definitions associated with this aspect; and potential consequences for practitioners who use multiple models.

The paper will consider some examples of conflict resolution in practice and how the Standards could apply.

The paper will consider whether creating the brand of "accredited mediator" may result in market confusion about what dispute resolution practice can be and limit consideration of options and practitioners that may not be "accredited mediators".

Item ID:	27972
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
ISBN:	978-0646-49497-5
Keywords:	mediation
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2013 05:57
FoR Codes:	18 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES > 1801 Law > 180104 Civil Law and Procedure @ 100%
SEO Codes:	94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9499 Other Law, Politics and Community Services > 949999 Law, Politics and Community Services not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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