The Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620)
To implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Mediation headed by the Secretary for Justice, and following public consultation, the Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620) was enacted in June 2012 and came into operation on 1 January 2013. The Mediation Ordinance provides a regulatory framework for the conduct of mediation in Hong Kong without hampering the flexibility of the mediation process.
The objects of the Mediation Ordinance are to promote, encourage and facilitate the resolution of disputes by mediation, and to protect the confidential nature of mediation communications (section 3).
For the purposes of the Mediation Ordinance, mediation is a structured process comprising one or more sessions in which one or more impartial individuals, without adjudicating a dispute or any aspect of it, assist the parties to a dispute to do any or all of the following including identifying the issues in dispute, exploring and generating options, communicating with one another and reaching an agreement regarding the resolution of the whole, or part, of the dispute (section 4).