Dispute Resolution Service Opens with a Panel of Twenty-Four Mediators

The Dispute Resolution Service of the Justice Department opens today and begins accepting referrals from member organisations of the Velocity Interoperability Network. Members are expected to attempt mediation before lodging a dispute with the Network Court, and a matter may not be lodged until the Service has issued a mediation certificate.

Twenty-four mediators have been appointed to five panel sections: interoperability standards, data sharing and protection, shared resources and identifiers, certification and licensing, and contracts and service levels. A mediator is appointed from the section corresponding to the subject of the dispute within five working days of a referral, and neither party may be a former colleague or adviser of the mediator.

A dispute may be referred to the Service by either member once 30 days of direct negotiation have passed without a settlement. Mediation is confidential; what is said in it is not disclosed to the Court, and only the certificate, which records that mediation concluded without agreement, is lodged with any subsequent matter. Mediation normally concludes within 60 days of referral, and the Service may extend that period once by 30 days at the joint request of the parties.

Sixteen member disputes transferred from the interim panels remain open and have been allocated to mediators of the panel. The stages of resolution, the timetable of a referral and the composition of the panel are set out on the Disputes page of this site. Referrals may be sent to contact@justice.gov.vin.