CONTENT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRINCIPLE OF CONFIDENTIALITY IN MEDIATION

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical and legal analysis of confidentiality as one of the most important principles of mediation. The author emphasizes that due to the progressive institutionalization of mediation and the introduction of this institution into national practice, it is important to study the principles of its implementation. Mediation is a voluntary process aimed at resolving a conflict between the parties. As a form of third-party intervention in a dispute, mediation creates an opportunity to reach an agreement between the parties without the participation of a court. The decisions made during the mediation process guide the parties into the future and help to satisfy the interests of both parties. The study is based on the use of an appropriate methodology with a special emphasis on theoretical and legal analysis. In the process of writing the paper, a combination of general scientific and special scientific methods of cognition was used. These include: the method of dialectics, methods of analysis and synthesis, structural and logical method, and the method of systematic approach. The use of these methods made it possible to reveal the content and significance of the principle of confidentiality of the mediation procedure. The article determines that compliance with the principle of confidentiality protects not only the confidentiality of information or positions provided during the mediation itself, but primarily the institution of mediation itself as an institution which allows presenting important information or positions without the risk of their use in court proceedings, in particular, when such use would be disadvantageous to the other party to the dispute. Confidentiality plays a very important role in mediation. The parties, having received assurances of confidentiality from the mediator, are assured that nothing that has been or will be said during the mediation, no details relating to private or professional matters, will be disclosed to others. Obtaining such assurance determines the form and content of the mediation. Confidentiality is a prerequisite for the parties’ trust in each other, in the mediator, and in mediation itself.