Section 100. Standards for and authority of neutral

A. A neutral participating in a dispute resolution procedure pursuant to this chapter shall comply with all provisions of this section. A neutral shall indicate compliance by filing with the director a signed, written statement as follows: "I agree to comply with Virginia's statutes and regulations governing dispute resolution, including § 10.1-1186.3 of the Code of Virginia and 9VAC25-15-10 et seq."

B. A neutral acting as a mediator shall adhere to the Judicial Council of Virginia's Standards of Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Certified Mediators, effective July 1, 2011, and the standards and duty provisions of § 8.01-581.24 of the Code of Virginia. A neutral conducting a nonmediation dispute resolution proceeding shall adhere to the requirements of § 8.01-576.9 of the Code of Virginia.

C. If a complaint is made to the director that a neutral has failed to comply with all the provisions of the applicable regulations, laws, and Judicial Council Standards during a dispute resolution proceeding, the director shall notify the neutral of the complaint and shall give the neutral 10 business days to respond in writing. If the director deems the response unsatisfactory, or if no response is made by the deadline, the director shall remove the neutral from the ongoing dispute resolution process. The parties to the terminated dispute resolution procedure shall decide whether to continue in the same dispute resolution procedure with a new neutral, to begin a new dispute resolution procedure, or to forego further dispute resolution.

D. The recommendation of a neutral is not a case decision as defined in § 2.2-4001 of the Administrative Process Act and therefore may not be appealed.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 17, Issue 16, eff. July 1, 2001; amended, Virginia Register Volume 31, Issue 21, eff. July 30, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1186.3 of the Code of Virginia.