Rule 20 Approval of Training Programs

• Library: South Carolina Rules Annotated (SCBar) (2020 Ed.)

RULE 20 APPROVAL OF TRAINING PROGRAMS

A training program, including the trainers to be utilized, must be approved by the Supreme Court or its designee, the Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification, before the program can be used for compliance with Rule 19(a)(6)(A) (certification of circuit court mediators), Rule 19(b)(2) (certification of family court mediators), or Rule 19(a)(7)(B) (certification of circuit court arbitrators). Approval need not be given in advance of training attendance. The Supreme Court may set administrative fees, which must be paid in advance of approval.

(a) Approval of Circuit Court Mediator Training Programs.

(1) An approved training program for mediators of the Court of Common Pleas civil actions shall consist of a minimum of forty (40) hours of instruction, unless otherwise provided by these rules. The curriculum of such programs shall at a minimum include:

(A) Conflict resolution and mediation theory;

(B) Mediation processes and techniques, including the process and techniques of trial court mediation;

(C) Standards of conduct and ethics for mediators;

(D) Statutes, rules and practice governing mediation settlement conferences in South Carolina;

(E) Demonstrations of mediation settlement conferences;

(F) Simulations of mediation settlement conferences, involving student participation as mediator, attorneys and disputants, which simulations shall be supervised, observed and...