What distinguishes a dispute mediation meeting from a mediation panel of the Mediation Committee, and who presides over each?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the committee's record for the meeting in question, to see what the chair designated for that meeting and in what number, and any paper showing whether the meeting was convened as a dispute mediation meeting or as a mediation panel, since both the composition and the presiding member turn on that.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading divides the committee's meetings by composition: a dispute mediation meeting consists of the chair, the standing members, and between five and nine members whom the chair designates for that meeting, and it is presided over by the chair; a mediation panel consists of the chair or a standing member, plus between two and four members the chair designates for that meeting, and it is presided over by the chair or a standing member.
Another reading notes that only the additional members are designated by the chair for each meeting, while the presiding member is fixed by the type of meeting itself, so the record must show both the chair's designation per meeting and which body was convened; and the provision leaves open what decides whether a given dispute is heard by a dispute mediation meeting or by a mediation panel.
Your judgment
Given the dispute in this file, what in the record shows which of the two bodies was convened, and why that body was chosen?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the number ranges or to set criteria for assigning a dispute to one body, or if a decision explains what the chair's designation must record.