Mediation Regulation

See below the articles of the Mediation Regulation of the Arbitration Center of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa:

Article 1

1. Any dispute that does not involve unavailable rights and that by law is not exclusively subject to state jurisdiction or the necessary arbitration may, regardless of the existence or not of a valid arbitration agreement, be the subject of an amicable settlement attempt, through the intervention of a mediator. of conflicts, appointed by the Arbitration Center of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (CAUAL).
2. Any of the parties can initiate the procedure, but the mediation will only take place if the remaining party or parties give their consent, under the terms of the present regulation.
3. All parties will express their consent to the mediation by signing the Mediation Protocol.

Article 2

1. The mediations will take place at the premises of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, where the headquarters of CAUAL is located.
2. Upon a reasoned request from both parties, and taking into account the special characteristics of the case, the Executive Director of CAUAL may also determine that the mediation take place elsewhere within the national territory.
3. Mediation may never take place on the premises of either party.
4. If there is no agreement between the parties in this regard, the mediation will take place at CAUAL's headquarters.

Article 3

1. The mediation procedure begins upon request addressed to the Executive Director of CAUAL.
2. If the situation provided for in paragraph 3 of article 1 does not occur, the party that intends to resort to mediation must indicate the other party or parties involved in the dispute, and briefly explain their perspective on it.
3. The request must be accompanied by proof of the registration fee, provided for in the CAUAL Cost Regulations.
4. In the request for mediation, the party requesting it may propose the appointment of one or more persons to perform the functions of mediator.

Article 4

1. Once the request has been received, under the conditions set out in the previous article, the Executive Director of CAUAL will inform the other party or parties of the existence and content of the request and will invite them, within a period to be set between 8 and 15 days, to:
   • a) Declare whether or not they accept to participate in the mediation process;
   • b) Opinion on the person or persons proposed to exercise the functions of mediator;
   • c) Present the payment of the initial preparation.
2. On the date on which the request is communicated to the requested party or parties, the Executive Director of CAUAL will notify the applicant so that, within a period identical to that referred to in paragraph 1, proceed with the payment of the initial preparation.

Article 5

1. Both the negative response and the lack of response, within the prescribed period, from all or any of the parties determine the shelving of the case.
2. The non-payment of the preparations by any of the parties within the established period also determines the shelving of the process, however, the
   Executive Director of CAUAL to set the missing party or parties an additional period, not exceeding 8 days, to make their payment.
3. The filing will be notified to the applicant, within 48 hours, with an indication of the reason that determined it.

Article 6

1. If all parties involved in the dispute consent to mediation and accept the mediator or one of the mediators proposed by the applicant, the Executive Director of CAUAL will appoint the proposed person.
2. If the parties involved in the dispute consent to mediation but do not agree on the person who should act as mediator, the Executive Director of CAUAL will appoint a mediator, immediately informing the parties of this appointment.
3. There will be a pool of conflict mediators at the secretariat of CAUAL, registered in the list of conflict mediators organized by the Ministry of Justice, as referred to in subparagraph e), of paragraph 1 of article 9, of Law no. 29/2013 of April 19, called “CaUAL Conflict Mediators List”.
4. The list referred to in the previous number is merely indicative, and the parties may propose a mediator who is not included in the "List of Conflict Mediators of CAUAL", however, it is not accepted that the mediator proposed by the parties is not included in the list of mediators of conflicts organized by the Ministry of Justice.
5. In cases where it is up to him to choose any mediator, the Executive Director of CAUAL can only exceptionally and by reasoned order make the choice fall on a mediator of conflicts not included in the “List of Conflict Mediators of CAUAL”.

Article 7

1. On the date on which he communicates the appointment of the mediator to the parties, the Executive Director will refer the case to the appointed mediator, setting a deadline, not exceeding 15 days, for holding a pre-mediation session with the parties, in which the will clarify the entire mediation process, explaining the guiding principles of mediation and all the procedures to follow.
2. If the parties do not opt for any other mediation procedure in particular, the terms set out in the following articles will be followed.

Article 8

At the end of the pre-mediation session, the mediator, in agreement with the parties, will set a date for the mediation session, and they will be immediately notified.

Article 9

1. The parties should, whenever possible, appear in person at the mediation session or sessions; in the case of legal persons, representatives must provide documentary evidence of their status and, if necessary, justify their respective powers.
2. If the parties cannot be present, they must appoint a representative with special powers to sign the agreement resulting from the mediation and, eventually, to request the constitution of the arbitral tribunal under the terms of the following article.
3. The parties may be accompanied by a lawyer, trainee lawyer or solicitor.

Article 10

1. At the mediation hearing, the mediator will assist the parties so that they can reach an agreement on their own to resolve the dispute.
2. If it is not possible for the parties to reach an agreement, the mediator will mention this in the mediation report, the process being closed, with the parties being entirely free to submit the dispute to the competent judicial courts, or if there is a valid agreement to that effect, to appeal to arbitration.
3. If there is an agreement, it will be written in writing and signed by all the parties involved, thus ending the mediation procedure.

Article 11

If the parties reach an agreement and once it has been signed by a mediator registered on the list of conflict mediators organized by the Ministry of Justice, the principle of enforceability will apply, enshrined in article 9 of Law No. 29/2013, of 19 April, and therefore this agreement is exempt from any type of approval.

Article 12

1. In the performance of its function, the mediator must proceed with impartiality, neutrality, independence, confidentiality and diligence.
2. The conflict mediator must also guide his action by the European Code of Conduct for Dispute Mediators.
3. The dispute mediator cannot be appointed as an arbitrator for the resolution of the same dispute, if it is submitted to arbitration organized by CAUAL.