Mutual Duties and Responsibilities. The mediator and the participants shall agree upon the duties and responsibilities that each is accepting in the mediation process. This may be a written or verbal agreement. Impartiality and Neutrality 1. The mediator is obligated to maintain impartiality toward all participants.
Impartiality means freedom from favoritism or bias, either in word or action.
Impartiality means that a mediator will not play either an adversarial or advocacy role. The mediator has a responsibility to maintain impartiality while raising questions for the parties to consider the feasibility of proposed options for settlement and dialogue. Neutrality refers to the relationship that the mediator has with the disputing parties. If the mediator feels, or any one of the participants states, that the mediator's background or personal experiences would prejudice the mediator's performance, the mediator should withdraw from the mediation unless all agree to proceed. A mediator's actual or perceived impartiality may be compromised by social or professional relationships with one of the participants at any point in time.