Tips for Selecting a Mediator

In a serious conflict, mediation is an option worth considering if the parties want to avoid facing each other in court. In mediation, a qualified and accredited mediator tries to help the disputing parties find common ground using negotiation principles. Mediators differ in their skills, qualifications, and experience.

To ensure that the mediator you engage is accredited or qualified, the starting point is to confirm that the individual has met the required national standards. For example, court-certified mediators in most states must have between 20 and 40 hours of mediation training.

In addition to the training, other professional qualifications can add value to the dispute resolution process. Depending on the type of case being disputed, these might include backgrounds such as a social worker, teacher, house inspector, or attorney.

Depending on the type of the dispute, it may be useful to know what kind of technical experience is relevant to your case that the mediator has, as that can prove beneficial to the mediation process. If the mediator is a practicing attorney, inquire about their primary area of jurisdiction. An understanding of the jurisdiction, including knowing the potential judges or jury pool, might make the mediator more persuasive.

When looking for a mediator, referrals can be convenient. You can get suggestions for suitable mediators through word of mouth from people who have used their services. Your attorney might also have some recommendations. In addition, information gathered at industry conferences, trade meetings, or business interactions can direct you to mediators in a specific field.

Many trade organizations and mediator membership organizations, such as the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) and the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), keep lists of mediators and the type of services offered.

While most mediators have developed their unique formulae and mediation schedule, it is equally important that the one you choose is flexible when handling the mediations. A mediator willing to listen to suggestions could make all the difference in terms of successful mediation or settlement.

A professional mediator should explain or show you a copy of their code of conduct (ethical standards), especially if an attorney. This might help avoid conflict of interest during the mediation process. You may, for example, seek to know whether the mediator has had any prior relationship with the opposing party or their lawyer. The mediator should be candid with you and reveal any bias which could affect his performance, such as personal beliefs.

A mediator is hired to provide a service. For this reason, look for one that is easy to work with. Is the mediator friendly, easy to communicate with, and do they respond to your queries quickly? Does the mediator reach out when something new crops up, or does he wait until you contact him?

Is the mediator open about his availability and rates? Most mediators normally charge per hour. Clarify whether the disputing parties split the fees. Some mediators only charge for the time spent in actual mediation, although others charge for travel and preparation time.

How the CNMI

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) voted for its independence in 1975. Before the vote for independence (plebiscite), the Northern Mariana Islands were a territory of the United States. However, the Commonwealth did not become a self-governing territory until 1978.

CMNI’s story begins centuries earlier when the first European settlers from Spain colonized the archipelago. Located 100 miles from Guam, the Commonwealth is comprised of 14 islands encompassing 183.5 square miles. Most of the islands are largely uninhabited, except for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, which are its principal islands.

In the early 16th century, Ferdinand Magellan briefly landed on the group of islands he named the Ladrones (thieves). Almost 100 years later, Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Jesuit priest, named the islands the Marianas in honor of the Spanish regent, Mariana of Austria. Unfortunately, the trip to convert the indigenous people (Chamorro) ended badly, with the Chamorros revolting.

By the end of the 17th century, the Chamorros were subjugated and made to take an oath to the Spanish crown. As part of their colonization, they wore European-style fashions, ate meat, and adopted artisan crafts such as sewing, spinning, weaving, iron forging, tanning, and stone masonry.

Spain expanded its reach into all of Micronesia, but its conflicts with Britain and Germany placed the Marianas in the middle of these rivalries. While the Spanish averted a war with Germany in 1886 through the mediation of Pope Leo XIII, its empire eventually weakened when it became entangled in the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century (1898).

By 1899, after the United States defeated Spain and took the Philippines, Spain removed itself entirely from the Pacific, selling all of the Marianas (except for Guam) to the Germans. This began a new era in the archipelago’s history, a time when Guam became separated from the Northern Marianas. Up until its independence in the latter part of the 20th century, the Germans and then the Japanese controlled the island.

Under the Germans, Saipan was the administrative center. The Germans also set up schools, hospitals, and other civic services and encouraged immigration to the islands. They also produced coconuts and the derivative copra (the dried part of the coconut), on coconut plantations.

After WWI, German colonization ended when the Japanese navy first took over the Marianas as part of a secret agreement with Britain to keep peace in Asia. Later, through the Treaty of Versailles, Japan received the Northern Marianas. Under Japanese rule, the laws governing the islands were an extension of those in Japan, with a few modifications.

Additionally, Japanese language education was a part of the educational system, which was restricted. At the same time, the Japanese built hospitals, public health improved, and everyone was employed.

The high employment rate grew out of Japan’s focus on economic development resulting in the establishment of sugar cane plantations and refineries on Saipan and Rota. Japan’s colonization of the Marianas ended at the end of WWII.

By WWII, the Marianas, including Guam, belonged to Japan, which established bases to help the country expand south and east. The United States took back Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, the island where the planes that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki took off from. After the war, the islands were returned to the U.S. when President Harry S. Truman signed the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Under this agreement, the UN Security Council had ultimate jurisdiction, but the islands were a U.S. territory. Between the early 1950s when the agreement was signed and the Marianas’ independence, the U.S. worked toward helping the Marianas become a self-governing independent government whose citizens retained the rights of American citizenship but could not vote in U.S. elections.

Today, the Marianas are comprised of diverse peoples that are under the purview of the U.S. government, which regulates its minimum wage laws and immigration and border controls. While the Marianas had a garment manufacturing industry at one time, competition from larger countries where labor costs were lower and a series of typhoons caused the islands' industries to suffer.