De-mystifying mediation for dispute resolution

The Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill has been published in the Gazette and presented to Parliament last month (July 2025).

- BY DHARA WIJAYATILAKE, Attorney at Law, Director and Secretary General of the International ADR Center, Sri Lanka; former Secretary to the Ministry of Justice.

Although mediation has been used in Sri Lanka since 1989 for the resolution of minor disputes at community level through Mediation Boards established by government under two statutes there is very little knowledge in Sri Lanka of its value and use worldwide for the resolution of more complex civil and commercial disputes and for Investor-State disputes. There are distinct differences between mediation, litigation, and arbitration. This article seeks to demystify the concept of mediation.

There are many styles of mediation, the popular being Facilitative Mediation also known as Traditional Mediation because in the early times this was the only known style of mediation. The Mediator, as a neutral third-party, assists disputants in communicating effectively to better understand their deepest concerns and needs to reach a settlement that best suits them. The intervention of a neutral third party offers prospects for settlement that direct negotiations between disputants or their representatives do not. This article deals only with facilitative mediation which is the type mainly practiced in Sri Lanka. The UN Mediation Convention, the domestic legislation enacted in 2024 and the current Bill, provide for principles that are universally adopted in facilitative mediation.