Commercial Mediation

Cooperation instead of confrontation

Commercial mediation is an interesting possibility to resolve conflicts in commercial life out of court. It can be the more efficient alternative in terms of cost and time compared to proceedings in court.

Commercial mediation is a structured process in which the conflicting parties arrive at an agreement on the resolution of their disputes on a voluntary basis with the help of the mediator. The mediator does not have authority to make a decision and can thus also not prescribe a solution. This makes for a decisive difference to a judge and arbitrator. Accordingly, the conflict resolution is developed by the mediation parties themselves, differently than in court proceedings. The actual interests of the parties at conflict and the joint development of solutions are in the foreground.

In the search for long-term resolutions, the parties at conflict pass through a process with the mediator consisting of several phases. Thus, the mediation procedure generally has a structured process. The parties can nonetheless determine their course of action at their discretion within the limits of the law. They can exercise private autonomy and arrange the procedure flexibly to a certain extent. The mentor is contacted initially by one of the parties in the conflict or by an uninvolved third party in most cases.

The course of the procedure consists of five phases:

• 1st phase: Preparation and mediation proposal
• 2nd phase: Gathering of information and topics
• 3rd phase: Staking out interests
• 4th phase: Finding options for solution
• 5th phase: Drafting of a mediation agreement

There are furthermore principles of commercial mediation, which are a central element of a professional mediation procedure and which must be observed by the parties involved. These serve to protect the mediator, the mediation parties and the correct process of the mediation procedure.

The five principles of commercial mediation are:

• the principle of voluntariness
• the principle of personal responsibility
• the principle of neutrality and impartiality of the mediator
• the principle of the disclosure duty
• the principle of confidentiality

Our expertise:

The parties involved in a mediation process can be referred to as the expert panel. The mediation parties are the specialists in the conflict and they are the ones most familiar with it. The mediator is the trained professional for the procedure itself. The quality and professional competencies of the mediator meanwhile have a decisive influence on the outcome of the mediation procedure. Only qualified training as commercial mediator and many years of experience in this field permit conducting the frequently demanding and complex procedures within the scope of commercial mediation. These requirements can be assured professionally and competently by SBS Legal.

We offer our service in the field of commercial mediation in particular for conflicts in the following constellations:

• Shareholder disputes
• Conflicts between entrepreneurs
• Conflicts between companies and distribution partners
• Conflicts between customer and supplier
• Conflicts relating to the succession of the company
• Conflicts between employee and employer
• Conflicts between supervisor and employee
• Conflicts among employees
• Conflicts between the management and the works council
• In cases of bullying at work
• Support in the organizational development

If you have questions on the issue of commercial mediation in general or in a specific case, you are welcome to contact us. We will be happy to answer your questions in an initial meeting free of charge.