Thanks to the new Mediation Act, 2023, there is considerable interest for becoming a Certified Mediator. It hence needs to be clarified that attending a mediation course or even a mediator’s training workshop (though 40+ hours’ long), does not a mediator make.

At best, a 40 hours’ training workshop gives a rough idea of what to expect in a Mediation Room, maybe even with some taste of what it feels like to sit in the Mediator’s chair. By itself, it is enough if all you want is to familiarise yourself with the mediation process hands on. As aptly mentioned by Chandrachud, J. (Retd. CJI), it is akin to a ‘Learner’s License’. It is, hence, where your journey to become a Certified Mediator starts.

It is sad to note that some individuals, after attending just a 40 hours’ training workshop, announce themselves as a ‘certified mediator’. It is even more sad, that institutions giving them the training, do not emphasise that the Certificate given for participation at a 40 hours’ training workshop does not entitle the recipient thereof to call himself/herself a ‘certified mediator’.

Having done a 40 hours’ mediator’s training workshop presently affords you an opportunity to sit as a mediator and even get empanelled with some organisations/institutions. Presently, you can hang out a shingle, so to say, to announce that you are a Mediator. Thereafter, you need to do several mediations, attend some Advanced training workshops, do some more mediations, and when you feel confident, apply for becoming a Certified Mediator, preferably to an organisation/institution that is either likely to give you more cases for mediating or is well recognised by others in the marketplace to rely on their certification to entrust cases to you for mediating.

As of date, there is not a single organisation/institution in India which has in place a robust regime to train, mentor, evaluate and accredit a Certified Mediator. Hopefully, the Mediation Council (not the Mediator’s Council – a private organisation with a similar and therefore misleading name) will put in place the right stipulations, which will support the nurturing of quality mediators.