The mediation may end in a number of ways:
• by settlement of the dispute in whole or part, when all agreed matters must be written down and signed by the parties to be binding;
• by one or more parties leaving the mediation before settlement is achieved;
• by an agreed adjournment for such time and on such terms as the parties and the mediator agree;
• by withdrawal of the mediator in accordance with the mandatory and optional circumstances set out in the Code.
The mediator will facilitate the drawing up of any settlement agreement, though the drafting is normally done by the lawyers representing each of the parties. Where proceedings have not been started in respect of the dispute, the settlement agreement will (if so intended and drafted) be a contract enforceable by legal action. Where proceedings have been issued in relation to the dispute, it is normal for a Consent Order to be agreed either at or after the mediation and later lodged to end the proceedings on the terms agreed.
Where the mediation does not end in complete settlement, the Mediator may make contact with the parties thereafter to see whether further progress might be possible. Many disputes which do not settle at the mediation settle later, usually as a result of what occurred or was learned at the mediation.
CEDR Solve endeavours to make contact with all the parties after every mediation to obtain their feedback on both the process itself and, in particular, the mediator. Any feedback obtained regarding the mediator will be given in full to the mediator as part of the mediator's continuing learning and development.