Exploring the Relationship Between Confidentiality and Disputant Participation in Court-Connected Me

By John Woodward

Confidentiality, though rarely straightforward or well understood in the court-connected context, has been widely perceived as a core defining characteristic of mediation. The limits of mediation confidentiality and the uses to which confidential information may be put has created uncertainty in the legal profession and operates as a disincentive to active disputant participation in mediation sessions. Drawing on empirical research interviews conducted for a doctoral research project, this paper explores the relationship between confidentiality and active disputant participation. It argues that a greater degree of certainty around confidentiality would enhance the opportunity for active disputant participation in the court-connected mediation process and reduce the level of adversarialism which remains evident in mediation events.

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