Mediation vs. Arbitration
Published .
The general concept
Mediation and arbitration are both ways to resolve a dispute without a full trial, but the neutral person has a different role. In mediation, the mediator helps the parties communicate, identify options, and negotiate. The mediator does not decide who wins or impose a result; the parties choose whether to agree, and they control the terms of any settlement. In arbitration, the parties present their positions and evidence to an arbitrator, who evaluates the dispute and issues an award. Arbitration may be binding or nonbinding depending on the agreement and governing rules. Binding arbitration usually replaces a court trial on the issues sent to arbitration, and a court can review the award only on limited grounds. Mediation is usually more flexible and collaborative; arbitration is usually more like a private, less formal hearing. Either can involve attorneys, documents, witnesses, and costs.
How Maryland applies it
Maryland courts use both processes under the alternative-dispute-resolution rules in Title 17. A court may order parties to attend a mediation session, but that does not require them to settle: the mediator assists the parties toward their own voluntary agreement and cannot impose a decision. By contrast, an arbitration produces an award. A key Maryland detail is that arbitration conducted solely under Title 17 is nonbinding by default unless the parties agree otherwise; arbitration under the Maryland Uniform Arbitration Act, the Federal Arbitration Act, or common law is generally binding, subject to the applicable agreement and law. Under Maryland’s Uniform Arbitration Act, a written agreement to arbitrate an existing dispute—or a written contract clause covering future disputes—is generally valid and enforceable, subject to legal grounds that could revoke a contract and statutory exceptions. An agreement may therefore affect whether a court hears a case, which claims are covered, who pays fees, and how review works. Court-referred mediation and private contractual mediation are not identical: the order, rules, contract, and confidentiality statute can affect what is confidential. Before choosing or resisting either procedure, read the arbitration or dispute-resolution clause carefully and check whether a court order or special statute applies.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Rules, Title 17, including Rules 17-102 and 17-103.; Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §§ 3-201–3-234, especially § 3-206 (Maryland Uniform Arbitration Act).; Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators, Arbitrators, and Other ADR Practitioners, comment to Standard A.