Md. Standards of Conduct for Court-Designated ADR Practitioners (introduction)

THE MARYLAND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR MEDIATORS

January 1, 2020

The Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators, effective January 1, 2020, are the same

standards as the Maryland Standards of Conduct for Court-Designated Mediators adopted by

Administrative Order of the Maryland Court of Appeals on December 6, effective January 1, 2020.

PREFACE

These revised Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators (the Standards) replace the

Standards of Conduct for Mediators, Arbitrators and other ADR Practitioners approved by the

Maryland Court of Appeals on October 31, 2001 and the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence

(MPME) Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators approved by the Mediator Excellence Council

on April 20, 2006.

The revisions were initially drafted by the Maryland Judicial Council ADR Committee Work

Group on Standards of Conduct for Mediators, which included representatives of the ADR Committee,

Maryland mediator practitioner organizations, and the Maryland Judiciary statewide ADR offices.

During the drafting process, approximately 200 Maryland mediators and mediation program

administrators attended public forums across the state and online, and many made oral or written

comments. The Work Group considered these comments in developing a new draft of revised

Standards, which it submitted to the Judicial Council ADR Committee. The revised draft Standards

were then considered, revised, and approved by the Judicial Council ADR Committee, for submission

to the Judicial Council.

These Standards are intended to guide the conduct of mediators, to help set appropriate

expectations for mediation participants, and to promote public confidence in mediation.1 To

accomplish these goals, the Standards should be publicized and made readily available to mediators

DRAFTERS NOTE: These Standards are not intended to create a basis to set aside an agreement reached in mediation or

for a cause of action against a mediator. A violation of standards is not intended to excuse the mediator’s obligation to

follow these or any other applicable standards or to diminish confidentiality under any applicable law.

and mediation users by mediation trainers, organizations that require or provide mediation, and

mediators.

These Standards provide general ethical principles that should be followed by all mediators to

whom they apply, regardless of the mediation framework or style being practiced. The Standards do

not explicitly address all ethical issues that may arise in mediation. Mediators and organizations that

provide mediation should regularly and carefully study the Standards and consider how these general

principles may apply to situations that may arise in their practices.

These Standards shall be read in their entirety and interpreted and applied as a whole.2

No one Standard is more important than another.

APPLICATION AND DEFINITIONS

A. Application. These Standards apply to a mediator and to any person assisting the mediator

in convening, administering, or conducting a mediation when: