“mediation”

This page shows official legal definitions of “mediation” from courts and ministries of justice in multiple countries. Definitions are listed in order of reading level to help with both basic understanding and deeper context.

Jurisdiction: Canada Canada

A process in which a neutral third party helps parents come to an agreement about issues related to separation and divorce, such as their parenting arrangement. In “shuttle mediation,” the two parents do not need to be in the same room. The mediator speaks to one parent and then to the other parent separately. The two parents negotiate with the help of the mediator, without being face to face.

Source: Glossary - Making plans: A guide to parenting arrangements after separation or divorce (Department of Justice Canada)
Jurisdiction: Australia Australia

Form of dispute resolution where an impartial third party helps communication and negotiations between the parties, but does not decide the dispute.

Source: Law Handbook Glossary (Legal Services Commission of South Australia)
Jurisdiction: New Zealand New Zealand

See “Alternative Dispute Resolution”.

Source: Glossary of Legal Terms (New Zealand Ministry of Justice)
Jurisdiction: Canada Canada

Mediation is “the intervention into a dispute or negotiation by an acceptable, impartial and neutral third party who has no decision-making power, to assist disputing parties in voluntarily reaching their own mutually acceptable settlement of issues in dispute” (Canadian Bar Association definition quoted in Justice Canada [1995], Dispute Resolution Reference Guide).

Source: Glossary - Evaluation of Litigation Services (Department of Justice Canada)