The mediation agreement shall be presented in a written form and must contain information about the parties, subject matter of the dispute, mediation procedure held, the mediator and the obligations, terms and conditions of their performance agreed by the parties. The mediation agreement is enforceable based on the principles of voluntary involvement and good faith of the parties. The mediation agreement reached by the parties as a result of the mediation procedure carried out after referral of the dispute to the court, may be approved by the court as a settlement agreement in accordance with the law.
The mediation agreement on the dispute arisen from civil legal relations and reached by the parties as a result of mediation carried out without referral of the dispute to the court is a civil transaction, focused on the establishment, modification or termination of rights and obligations of the parties. The rules of civil law on compensation, novation, forgiveness of the debt, offset of counter claims, reimbursement of damages may be applied to such transaction. Protection of the rights violated as a result of non-performance or improper performance of such a mediation agreement is carried out by the methods provided by the civil law.
However, the use of mediation procedure has a number of actual advantages over the classical judicial consideration of the dispute and may be an efficient tool for conflict resolution. The correctly drafted mediation agreement will enable the parties to significantly reduce the costs inherent in the course of normal (legal) business management. Such an agreement does not require the compliance with the strict formal procedures, helping the parties to save much time.