Samenvatting

In the context of legal or commercial disputes, mediation can broadly be defined as a process in which a third party - the mediator - tries to assist parties to a dispute to resolve their differences. This contribution questions the notion of a mediator being a “neutral” who has no, or at least very limited authority to deal with the substance of a dispute. This is not merely an academic matter, as mediator “neutrality” also sometimes lies at the heart of the way mediation is regulated and mediators are trained, regulatory frameworks and mediator as is the case with Belgium.