Article 93p. 93

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

early in a pre-trial phase to present summaries of their

cases and receive a nonbinding assessment by an

experienced,

neutral

person,

with expertise in the

subject in the substance of the dispute;

(o)

"Government

Agency"

means

any

government

entity, office or officer, other than a court, that is vested

by law with quasi-judicial power to resolve or adjudicate

dispute involving the government, its agencies and

instrumentalities, or private persons;

(p) "International Party" shall mean an entity whose

place of business is outside the Philippines. It shall not

include a domestic subsidiary of such international

party or a coventurer in a joint venture with a party

which has its place of business in the Philippines.

The term foreigner arbitrator shall mean a person who

is not a national of the Philippines.

(q) "Mediation" means a voluntary process in which a

mediator, selected by the disputing parties, facilitates

communication and negotiation, and assist the parties

in reaching a voluntary agreement regarding a dispute.

(r) "Mediator" means a person who conducts mediation;

(s) "Mediation Party" means a person who participates

in a mediation and whose consent is necessary to

resolve the dispute;

(t) "Mediation-Arbitration" or Med-Arb is a step dispute

resolution

process

involving

both

mediation

and

arbitration;

(u) "Mini-Trial" means a structured dispute resolution

method in which the merits of a case are argued before

a panel comprising senior decision makers with or

without the presence of a neutral third person after

which the parties seek a negotiated settlement;

(v) "Model Law" means the Model Law on International

Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations

Commission on International Trade Law on 21 June

1985;

(w) "New York Convention" means the United Nations

Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of

Foreign Arbitral Awards approved in 1958 and ratified

by the Philippine Senate under Senate Resolution No.

71;

(x) "Non-Convention Award" means a foreign arbitral

award made in a State which is not a Convention State;

(y) "Non-Convention State" means a State that is not a

member of the New York Convention.

(z) "Non-Party Participant" means a person, other than

a party or mediator, who participates in a mediation

proceeding as a witness, resource person or expert;

(aa) "Proceeding" means a judicial, administrative, or

other

adjudicative

process,

including

related

pre-hearing motions, conferences and discovery;

(bb)

"Record"

means an information written on a

tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other

similar medium, retrievable form; and

(cc) "Roster" means a list of persons qualified to provide

ADR services as neutrals or to serve as arbitrators.

SEC.

4.

Electronic

Signatures

in

Global

and

E-Commerce Act . - The provisions of the Electronic

Signatures in Global and E-Commerce Act, and its

implementing Rules and Regulations shall apply to

proceeding contemplated in this Act.

SEC. 5. Liability of ADR Provider and Practitioner . -

The ADR providers and practitioners shall have the

same civil liability for the Acts done in the performance

of then duties as that of public officers as provided in

Section 38 (1), Chapter 9, Book of the Administrative

Code of 1987.

SEC. 6. Exception to the Application of this Act . - The

provisions of this Act shall not apply to resolution or

settlement of the following: (a) labor disputes covered

by Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the

Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended and its

Implementing

Rules

and

Regulations; (b) the civil

status of persons; (c) the validity of a marriage; (d) any

ground

for legal separation; (e) the jurisdiction of

courts; (f) future legitime; (g) criminal liability; and (h)

those which by law cannot be compromised.

CHAPTER 2 - MEDIATION

SEC. 7. Scope . - The provisions of this Chapter shall

cover

voluntary

mediation,

whether

ad

hoc

or

institutional,

other

than

court-annexed.

The

term

"mediation' shall include conciliation.

SEC. 8. Application and Interpretation . - In applying

construing the provisions of this Chapter, consideration

must be given to the need to promote candor or parties

and mediators through confidentiality of the mediation

process, the policy of fostering prompt, economical, and

amicable resolution of disputes in accordance with the

principles of integrity of determination by the parties,

and the policy that the decision-making authority in

the mediation process rests with the parties.

SEC. 9. Confidentiality of Information . - Information

obtained

through

mediation

proceedings

shall

be

subject to the following principles and guidelines:

(a) Information obtained through mediation shall be

privileged and confidential.

(b) A party, a mediator, or a nonparty participant may

refuse to disclose and may prevent any other person

from disclosing a mediation communication.

(c) Confidential Information shall not be subject to

discovery and shall be inadmissible if any adversarial

proceeding, whether judicial or quasi-judicial, However,

evidence or information that is otherwise admissible or

subject to discovery does not become inadmissible or

protected from discovery solely by reason of its use in a

mediation.

(d) In such an adversarial proceeding, the following

persons involved or previously involved in a mediation

may

not

be

compelled

to

disclose

confidential

information obtained during mediation: (1) the parties

to the dispute; (2) the mediator or mediators; (3) the

counsel for the parties; (4) the nonparty participants; (5)

any persons hired or engaged in connection with the

mediation as secretary, stenographer, clerk or assistant;

and (6) any other person who obtains or possesses

confidential information by reason of his/her profession.

(e) The protections of this Act shall continue to apply

even of a mediator is found to have failed to act

impartially.

(f) a mediator may not be called to testify to provide

information gathered in mediation. A mediator who is

wrongfully subpoenaed shall be reimbursed the full

cost of his attorney's fees and related expenses.

SEC. 10. Waiver of Confidentiality . - A privilege arising

from the confidentiality of information may be waived

in a record, or orally during a proceeding by the

mediator and the mediation parties.

A

privilege

arising

from

the

confidentiality

of

information may likewise be waived by a nonparty

participant

if the information is provided by such

nonparty participant.

A person who discloses confidential information shall

be

precluded

from

asserting

the

privilege

under

Section 9 of this Chapter to bar disclosure of the rest of

the

information

necessary

to

a

complete

understanding of the previously disclosed information.

If

a

person

suffers

loss or damages in a judicial

proceeding

against

the

person

who

made

the

disclosure.

A person who discloses or makes a representation

about a mediation is preclude from asserting the

privilege

under

Section

9, to the extent that the

communication

prejudices

another

person

in

the

© Compiled By RGL

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