In mediation, parties speak for themselves and work together to negotiate an agreement with help from an accredited mediator. Mediation is proven to be: 

• more co-operative and active than other domain dispute resolution options, such as courts and tribunals,
• more informal than some of our other processes, such as expert determinations and appeals,   

Mediation is voluntary and any agreements reached within mediation must be in writing to be legally binding. We have fully qualified mediators available to assist you to reach a resolution.

Our mediation process is conducted through our ODR platform. This means you can participate in mediation via video conferencing from your own office and have the option to nominate dates and times that work for you.

We would like to reassure you that the mediation stage is confidential and without prejudice to your rights and remedies in the dispute resolution service or in any court.

 Agreement

If you reach an agreement by mediation, there is a written settlement agreement that both parties are asked to sign recording:

• What steps the parties have agreed to take to change their preferences for the domain name
• What money needs to be exchanged 
• The date and mechanism of the exchange of monies
• Enforcement 
• That this is the final agreement and is legally binding.

You need to sign a written settlement agreement if you want the agreement to be legally binding.  (See terms of use of the platform.) You may want to take legal advice before signing it.

Parties can enter into a non-standard settlement agreement that they agree on, but unless the standard terms are used, it is unlikely that DNCL can assist with any enforcement.