Mediation Bill 2017 – TABLE OF CONTENTS
Code of practice
| 9. | (1) | The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into operation of this section and having had regard to the matters specified in subsection (2)— | ||
| (a) | prepare and publish a code or codes of practice to set standards for the conduct of mediations, or | |||
| (b) | approve a code or codes of practice prepared by a person other than the Minister which purports to set standards for the conduct of mediations. | |||
| (2) | A code of practice referred to in subsection (1) may include provisions in relation to any of the following: | |||
| (a) | continuing professional development training requirements for mediators; | |||
| (b) | procedures to be followed by mediators in the conduct of a mediation; | |||
| (c) | procedures to be followed by mediators in the conduct of a mediation requiring consultation, by a mediator, with a child; | |||
| (d) | ethical standards to be observed by mediators during a mediation; | |||
| (e) | confidentiality of a mediation; | |||
| (f) | procedures to be followed by a party for redress in the event of dissatisfaction with the conduct of a mediation; | |||
| (g) | determination of the fees and costs of a mediation. | |||
| (h) | any other matters relevant to the conduct of mediation. | |||
| (3) | Before publishing or approving a code of practice under this section, the Minister shall— | |||
| (a) | publish a notice on the website of the Department of Justice and Equality and in at least one daily newspaper circulating generally in the State— | |||
| (i) | indicating that he or she proposes to publish or approve a code under this section, | |||
| (ii) | indicating that a draft of the code is available for inspection on that website for a period specified in the notice (being not less than 30 days from the date of the publication of the notice in the newspaper), and | |||
| (iii) | stating that submissions in relation to the draft code may be made in writing to the Minister before a date specified in the notice (which shall be not less than 30 days after the end of the period referred to in subparagraph (ii)), | |||
| and | ||||
| (b) | have regard to any submissions received pursuant to paragraph (a)(iii). | |||
| (4) | Where the Minister prepares or approves a code of practice under this section, he or she shall cause a notice of the preparation or approval to be published in Iris Oifigiúil and the notice shall specify the date from which the code shall come into operation. | |||
| (5) | Subject to subsection (6), the Minister may— | |||
| (a) | amend or revoke a code of practice prepared or approved under this section, or | |||
| (b) | withdraw approval in respect of any code of practice previously approved under this section. | |||
| (6) | The requirements of subsections (3) and (4) shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to a code of practice that the Minister intends to amend or revoke or in relation to which the Minister intends to withdraw his or her approval. | |||
| (7) | Where the Minister amends or revokes, or withdraws his or her approval in respect of, a code of practice under this section, he or she shall cause a notice to that effect to be published in Iris Oifigiúil specifying— | |||
| (a) | the code to which the amendment, revocation or withdrawal of approval, as the case may be, relates, | |||
| (b) | whether the code is to be amended or revoked or whether approval in relation to the code is to be withdrawn, | |||
| (c) | if the code is to be amended, particulars of the amendment, and | |||
| (d) | the date from which the amendment, revocation or withdrawal of approval, as the case may be, shall come into operation. | |||
| (8) | In this section “code of practice” includes part of a code of practice. | |||
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