MEDIATION PAN AFRICAN PLEDGE TO COMPLY WITH THE MEDIATION PROTOCOL

1. RMO's admission criteria and processes for admitting mediators to its panel in compliance with the Minimum Mediator Standards in Annexure.

Method adopted to comply with the Minimum Mediator Standards in Annexure A.

We confirm that our admission criteria and processes for mediators on our panel fully comply with the Minimum Mediator Standards in Annexure A.

1.1       The requirement listed in Annexure A at paragraph (c) to the Protocol viz competency certification.

MPA is committed to comply with the certification.

The method undertaken to ensure compliance certification.

1.1.1    Training Requirement:

Our mediators hold accreditations from recognized organizations such as DISAC, NABFAM, IMI, or CEDR. We maintain a central database of all accreditation certificates to ensure compliance.

MPA requests all relevant certifications from mediation practitioners and scrutinized submitted the documents to ensure that:

The practitioner is a graduate professional who

• has completed; and
• has been assessed as competent by an independent assessor

under a mediator training program that is affiliated with a South African University in line with internationally accepted mediation accreditation requirements or otherwise accredited by the Dispute Settlement Accreditation Council of South Africa (DiSAC), the National Accreditation Board of Family Mediators (NABFAM), the International Mediation Institute (IMI), or the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) or, alternatively, has been recognised as duly trained by virtue of the RMO’s policy on the Recognition of Prior Learning.

An accredited mediator training program shall be for an aggregate of 40 hours minimum must be primarily focussed on practical exercises. Following completion of the training program, the trainee must be assessed and certified as competent by independent assessors^’ (normally by having to conduct a mock mediation) to satisfy this requirement. This minimum standard is aligned with the internationally accepted minimum requirements as established by the IMI.

 

1.1.2    MPA’s Step-by-Step Recognition of Prior Learning ( RPL) Assessment for Mediators

1.1.2.1 MPA Clarifies the Benchmark Criteria

• Identify the unit standards, competency outcomes, and/or accreditation benchmarks the mediator must meet.
• Examples: IMI Competency Criteria, DiSAC’s Code of Ethics, SAQA’s registered mediation qualifications.

1.1.2.2 Gather Evidence of Prior Learning by ask the candidate to submit:

• Portfolio of Evidence: Case summaries, agreements drafted, feedback from parties, reflective journals.
• Training Records: Certificates, CPD logs, course syllabi.
• Peer or Supervisor Endorsements: Letters of validation from senior mediators or trainers.

1.1.2.3 Evaluate Against Core Competencies

• Use a rubric to assess:
• Competency Area
• Evidence Required
• Assessment Method
• Process Design
• Case examples, procedural documents
• Portfolio + Interview
• Communication & Ethics
• Feedback, reflective writing
• Observation and Written Task
• Case logs, party feedback
• Panel Review
• Legal & Cultural Awareness
• Contextual analysis, training history
• Written Submission
• Reflective Practice, Journals, supervision notes
• Interview and Self-Assessment questionnaires

1.1.2.4 Conduct a Validation Interview or Simulation

• Panel of assessors observes a mock mediation or conducts a structured interview.
• Focus on real-time decision-making, ethical reasoning, and process fluency.

1.1.2.5 Gap Identification & Bridging Plan

If partial recognition is granted, outline:

• • Specific competencies needing development.
  • Recommended bridging modules or mentorship.

1.1.2.6 Final Recognition & Documentation

• Issue a formal statement of RPL recognition.
• Ensure alignment with national qualifications framework or institutional standards.

1.1.2.7 As a principle of fairness MPA adheres to a Governance-Level Oversight policy by

• Ensuring assessor neutrality: Avoid conflicts of interest in panel selection.
• Protecting IP and confidentiality: Especially when reviewing case materials.
• Embedding reflective practice: Recognition should not only validate skill but also encourage growth.
• Balancing inclusivity with rigour: Recognise diverse pathways into mediation while upholding standards.

 

1.2       Practicing under a Recognized Mediation Organisation (RMO): While many of our mediators are already registered with other RMOs, our application seeks the authority to register our own mediators. All our mediators have signed a formal agreement to comply with our Code of Professional Conduct (Annexure A in our application) and our Complaints and Disciplinary Policy (Annexures D & E). This commitment ensures that all court-annexed mediations are conducted under our oversight and according to our standards.

By signing these policies the Mediation Practitioners subjects him-/herself to the RMO’s codes, policies and rules.

 

MPA undertakes to ensure that when Mediation Practitioners conduct court-annexed mediations, these mediation practitioners comply with MPA’s codes, policies and rules as aforesaid, and that they honour their undertaking to be subject to the MPA’s oversight, regardless of whether the mediation was arranged and administered privately, by the MPA, or via any other administrative process.

 

1.3      Additional Post-Training Competence: We have implemented a two-tiered panel system to ensure a high standard of competence:

1.4      MPA General Mediation Panel

This panel includes newer mediators who are given opportunities to gain experience as observers and co-mediators. We offer a bi-monthly mentorship program and various short courses to enhance their skills and prepare them for court-annexed mediation.

Additional post-training competence certification by MPA:

MPA has, in addition to verifying compliance with the training requirement set out in paragraph a above) of  Annexure A of the Court Annexed Mediation Protocol certify that mediators on their panel have the necessary skills, experience and competence to conduct court annexed mediations. To comply with this requirement, MPA requires our mediators to comply with assessments as we have internally determined necessary and appropriate and we require our members to undergo additional training or to act as an observer in a stipulated number of mediations prior to being certified as aforesaid. MPA undertakes to bear the responsibility to ensure that we put forward mediators who are competent to conduct court-annexed mediations as envisaged in this protocol.

 

1.5    MPA Protocol Compliance Panel: This list, which forms the basis of this application, includes only mediators with established experience. Many were extensively involved in the SAMLA RAF and MEC pilot projects, or are personally known to our directors, who can attest to their skills.

For prospective mediators not known to our directors, we conduct a rigorous interview process and reserve the right to assess their competency through a moot mediation.

 

1.6     The method adopted to ensure compliance with the requirement set put in paragraphs d of  Annexure A viz mediators doing personal injury matters to provide written proof of personal injury-specific experience and/or recognised training

MPA requires written proof of personal injury mediation experience and/or training:

MPA verifies that qualified mediators who desire to conduct mediations of personal injury matters (including RAF and medical-negligence claims) provide MPA with proof of additional experience and/or specific training in personal injury matters. The verification is done to ensure that mediators understand the industry of and law applicable to personal injury matters and are capable to facilitate the negotiations between the parties efficiently. The mediators mediating personal injury matters are requested to submit a certificate to proof that he/she has the basic understanding of these specific matters (including the law applicable thereto and the practical administration thereof) - either through practice experience in this field, prior mediation experience in this field or through additional (personal injury/medical-negligence/RAF-focused) training to mediate in this field.

 

MPA’S VERIFICATION PROCESS TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE APPROVAL OF MEDIATORS AND TO BE CERTIFIED AS ‘A QUALIFIED MEDIATOR’

Mediation of Personal Injury Matters:

Compliance through specialized training and experience verification. For mediators without prior experience in this field, an interview is conducted by Charlene Labuschagne, alternatively, Dr Herman Edeling, both accredited mediators with extensive experience in delictual law.

Dr Edeling was instrumental in establishing the RAF and MEC pilot projects and provides specialized training courses through MPA.

 

2. Competency Certification (Annexure A, Paragraph c)

We provide express commitment to competency certification. Our process, as detailed above in the section on Additional Post-Training Competence, ensures that all mediators on our MPA Protocol Compliance Panel are highly competent.

In addition, as we expand our panel, we will use a series of structured role-plays to assess the skills and competence of new registrants.

          3.  Personal Injury-Specific Experience or Training (Annexure A, Paragraph d)

We ensure compliance by requiring written proof of specific training or experience. We offer our own RAF-specific course, with the next session scheduled for October.

Furthermore, we plan to implement additional medical negligence training in collaboration with Dr. Herman Edeling.

4. The Gauteng Protocol in Annexure B (section 4) requires publication of certain information on a website.

Publication of Information (Annexure B, Section 4)

We confirm that all required information is published on our website. You can find the relevant details and links below:

Paragraphs 1(a) link: https://mediationpanafrican.com/about-mediation-pan-african/#CompanyInfo

Paragraph 1(e): Link: https://mediationpanafrican.com/mpa-mediator-panels/

5. Annexure C to the Protocol (section 1) requires RMO's to publish a consolidated list/register/database of court-annexed mediation panel members which it has identified as Qualified Mediators, which must also be publicly available on a website accessible by the general public, and shall set out specified.

We confirm that our consolidated list of Qualified Mediators for court-annexed mediation is publicly available and accessible on our website.

Link: https://mediationpanafrican.com/mpa-mediator-panels

 

6. Satisfaction in terms of Annexure C to the Protocol (section 2) which places specific reporting obligations on RMO's.

MPA will utilize the ADR Tech Group platform for all reporting obligations. This platform provides a comprehensive reporting dashboard that simplifies the process and ensures accurate and timely submission of all required data.

We trust that this information clarifies our commitment to the protocol. We apologize if any of this was unclear in our initial submission and hope this updated response addresses your concerns. We look forward to your positive consideration of our application.