Disputes
Members of the Velocity Interoperability Network are expected to resolve disputes between themselves wherever possible. The Justice Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network provides a Dispute Resolution Service to assist them, and a member may not lodge a dispute with the Network Court until the stages below have been completed.
The Service opened on 6 September 2026. It maintains a panel of 24 mediators in five sections, receives referrals from members, appoints a mediator to each referral and issues the certificate that allows a matter to be lodged with the Court. It is separate from the Registry of the Network Court and from the Enforcement Office, and it tells neither of them anything about a mediation beyond the fact that a certificate has been issued.
Sixteen member disputes were transferred to the Service from the interim panels that member organisations convened before the Department existed. Each has been allocated to a mediator of the appropriate panel section, and the parties to each have been written to. The 30-day period of direct negotiation is treated as having been satisfied in every one of them.
Disputes covered
- Disagreements over the interpretation of a Network interoperability standard.
- Alleged failure by a member to meet a service or data-sharing obligation.
- Disputes over the allocation of shared Network resources.
- Disputes arising from certification, registration or licensing between members.
- Disagreements over charging between members for access to a shared service or index.
- Disputes about the terms of a settlement recorded in an earlier mediation.
Stages of resolution
Step 1: Direct negotiation
The members concerned notify one another in writing of the dispute and meet to attempt a settlement. A record of the meeting is kept by each party. Most disputes are resolved at this stage.
Step 2: Referral to the Dispute Resolution Service
If no settlement is reached within 30 days, either member may refer the dispute to the Department's Dispute Resolution Service, which appoints a mediator from its panel and notifies the other party.
Step 3: Mediation
The mediator meets the parties, together and separately, to identify the rule or standard in question and the terms on which the dispute might be settled. Mediation is confidential and normally concludes within 60 days.
Step 4: Certificate and referral to the Court
If mediation concludes without agreement, the Service issues a mediation certificate. Either member may then lodge the matter with the Network Court, attaching the certificate.
The Service at establishment
- 24
- Mediators appointed to the five sections of the panel
- 5
- Panel sections covering the subjects most often in dispute
- 16
- Member disputes open at establishment and allocated to a mediator
- 60
- Days within which mediation normally concludes
How to refer a dispute to the Service
Step 1: Check that 30 days of direct negotiation have passed
The period runs from the day the first member notified the other in writing of the dispute. A referral made before the period has passed is returned, unless both members ask the Service to accept it early.
Step 2: Prepare a short statement of the dispute
Name the members concerned, describe the disagreement in no more than two pages, identify the rule, standard or obligation in question and say what outcome you are seeking. Do not attach material you would not be willing for the other member to read.
Step 3: Send the referral to the Dispute Resolution Service
Referrals are made by email. Give the name of an officer of your organisation who will deal with the mediation, and the email address at which that officer is to be served, and say whether any date within the next 60 days is unsuitable.
Step 4: The Service notifies the other member
The other member is notified within three working days and is asked to give the name of an officer and to state any objection to a mediator being appointed from a particular panel section.
Step 5: A mediator is appointed
The Service appoints a mediator from the panel section corresponding to the subject of the dispute within five working days of the referral. A party may object to the appointment once, on stated grounds, within three working days.
Step 6: The first meeting is arranged
The mediator arranges the first meeting within 15 working days of appointment and tells the parties what each should prepare. From that point the mediation runs to the 60-day period described below.
The role of the mediator
- The mediator does not decide the dispute
- A mediator has no power to determine what a rule means or to order a member to do anything. The mediator's task is to help the parties understand each other's position and to test whether a settlement is possible.
- Mediation is confidential
- What is said in mediation is not disclosed to the Court, to other members or to any Network department. Only the certificate, which records that mediation concluded without agreement, is lodged with a subsequent matter.
- A settlement is recorded in writing
- Where the parties agree, the mediator records the terms and each party signs. A recorded settlement is an obligation between the members and may itself be enforced by the General Division if it is not honoured.
- Either party may withdraw
- A party may withdraw from mediation at any time by writing to the Service. The Service then issues the certificate, and the mediation is treated as having concluded without agreement.
- The Service charges nothing
- No fee is charged for a referral, for the appointment of a mediator or for the certificate. Each member bears its own costs of taking part.
Where mediation is held
Mediations are held in the meeting rooms of the Department, apart from the sitting rooms used by the Court and the tribunals. A mediator may hold a meeting by video where the parties agree, and may meet each party separately in the course of the same day.
Nothing said in those meetings is recorded or reported. The mediator keeps only a note of the dates on which the parties met and of the terms of any settlement they reach.
Panel of mediators
| Panel section | Field | Mediators | Typical matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interoperability standards | Conformance, versioning and the interpretation of published standards | 6 | Standards questions and service conformance disputes |
| Data sharing and protection | Returns, indexes, records and the handling of personal data | 5 | Late or incomplete returns; disagreements over access |
| Shared resources and identifiers | Allocation and use of identifiers, capacity and credentials | 4 | Allocation disputes between three or more members |
| Certification and licensing | Conformance testing, certification and licences to operate | 5 | Disputes arising from a test result or a licence condition |
| Contracts and service levels | Service windows, availability and charging between members | 4 | Service-level and charging disputes |
Timetable of a referral
| Step | Period | Reckoned from |
|---|---|---|
| Direct negotiation | 30 days | From the written notification of the dispute |
| Notification of the other member | 3 working days | From receipt of the referral |
| Appointment of a mediator | 5 working days | From receipt of the referral |
| Objection to the mediator appointed | 3 working days | From notification of the appointment |
| First meeting | 15 working days | From the appointment of the mediator |
| Conclusion of mediation | 60 days | From receipt of the referral; extendable once by 30 days |
| Issue of a mediation certificate | 5 working days | From the conclusion of the mediation |
Referrals
Enforcement matters brought by a Network department are not subject to mediation and go directly to the Network Court; the procedure that applies to them is described on the Enforcement page. Where mediation concludes without agreement, the matter is heard by the General Division, whose sitting days are listed on the Courts and Tribunals page, under the Rules of Procedure.
To refer a dispute to the Dispute Resolution Service, email contact@justice.gov.vin. Answers to common questions about referral and mediation are given in the frequently asked questions.