The cost of resolving a dispute by mediation is usually lower than it is by arbitration or a court. Even in cases where the parties successfully resolve disputes through conducting conciliation [1] in the courts, the parties still have to bear 50% of the first-instance court fees settled according to common procedures [2]. Meanwhile, the cost of out-of-court mediation will be much more economical as the cost of resolving disputes will usually be the cost for one to three mediators working in a short period of time. The cost of mediation depends on the fee schedule, the conditions of each mediator, and the quality of the mediator, but it is generally more economical for the parties when compared to resolving the dispute by arbitration or court. In addition, a number of state-of-the-art mediation centers have added online mediation to shorten the time and cost of mediation.

[1] Mediation meeting before the first instance trial

[2] 2015 Civil Procedure Code, Article 147, Clause 3.

(c) VICMC 2019