Mediation ethics: From theory to practice, Rachael Field and Jonathan Crowe. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020

• Published date: 01 October 2021
• Author: Dorcas Quek Anderson
• Date: 01 October 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21316

BOOK REVIEW

Mediation ethics: From theory to practice

Rachael Field and Jonathan Crowe

Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020

1|THE LONG-STANDING DEBATE ON MEDIATOR

NEUTRALITY

For too long within the mediation field, there has been confusion on how the foundational

principles of mediator neutrality, impartiality, and self-determination work together to bring

about a fair outcome. There has been a corresponding lack of clarity on what the mediator does

to ensure that these principles are collectively fulfilled through a consensual settlement.

Astor (2007), who has written extensively on mediator neutrality, has described the mediator's

role as maximizing party control. However, Astor also comments that making decisions aimed

at maximizing party control is not simple and highly dependent on the context. The mediator

has to intervene in order to fulfill this goal, but they are “not given a license to impose their

own views and ideologies on unwilling parties.”“Rather they must decide whether their inter-

ventions are necessary in the circumstances or whether they should avoid intervening in order

to give the parties the maximum control possible”(Astor, 2007, p. 236). The type of mediator

intervention appears to be very difficult to determine, being highly dependent on the mediator's

contextual assessment of the parties' level of autonomy.

In this publication, Field and Crowe have boldly confronted these long-standing difficulties

and have made a radical proposal for a new framework of mediation ethics. As suggested by the

chosen title, the authors grapple with the practical difficulties caused by theoretical incoherence

within mediation ethics. In essence, they contend that the reliance on neutrality and impartial-

ity in current mediation ethics is unrealistic as it ignores issues such as the reality of the media-

tor's power and does not guide mediators to proactively deal with power imbalances in order to

advance the parties' self-determination. In practice, the mediator is required to actively inter-

vene in the process to take into account the distinctive needs of the parties. Such a mediator

may not truly be neutral in the sense of being detached and disinterested in the dispute, or

impartial by treating parties identically and objectively. The authors therefore propose a new

paradigm of mediation ethics focusing on relational party self-determination—mutual self-

determination for the parties achieved in relationship with each other—and complemented by

an emphasis on informed consent and an ethos of professionalism. Their carefully constructed

framework represents a commendable attempt to introduce both theoretical coherence and

practical guidance to mediation ethics.

Received: 14 July 2021 Accepted: 15 July 2021

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21316

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