A case study of mediators maintaining impartiality within practice

The aim of this research was to obtain qualitative information from local practitioners’ relating to their practice of mediation, with a focus on maintaining impartiality within the mediation environment, as impartiality is a key principle associated with the mediation process and is discussed by mediators regularly.

Following a literature review, in which existing research into impartiality and neutrality as aspects of mediation was identified and described, an initial small-scale case study was conducted with mediation practitioners in Canterbury making use of qualitative questionnaires. The qualitative data obtained from six participants who completed questionnaires was then analysed inferentially to identify everyday meanings of terminology and establish whether there are common strategies for maintaining impartiality in the practice of mediation.

Canterbury Christ Church University has operated the Mediation Clinic for ten years and has established relationships with practicing mediators based in Canterbury primarily and from other areas of East Kent. The Mediation Clinic has three strategic aims: to enhance the student experience; to provide mediation services to the local and wider community of Kent; and to encourage research into attitudes held about mediation from legal practitioners, mediators and clients.

This research project is being sponsored by the Mediation Clinic. There is future scope for this initial study to be conducted in other locations within the United Kingdom to establish validity of local findings across a wider geographical area or its scope widened in order to look at differences between the different types of mediation and varying backgrounds of mediation practitioners.