Why the professional accepted the role
Role, competence, standing, conflicts and availability should be sufficiently clear at the start.
STANDARDS IN PRACTICE
Independence.
Competence.
Mandate.
Information.
Conduct.
Disclosure.
Closure.
STANDARD
EXPECTATION
PRACTICE
BEHAVIOUR
RECORD
ACCOUNTABILITY
THE PROFESSION / PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN PRACTICE
A standard matters only when it changes how the professional behaves when the matter becomes difficult.
Professional standards should be usable inside real Neutral Practice. Independence is tested by relationships and pressure. Competence is tested by unfamiliar questions and changing roles. Mandate discipline is tested when participants ask for more than the original engagement allowed. Confidentiality is tested when private information becomes important. Conduct is tested when the process becomes adversarial. Public standing is tested when professional claims are relied upon. The profession becomes credible when these expectations can be recognised in actual behaviour.
A PROFESSION SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHOW THE RULES IT ASKS PEOPLE TO WORK BY
Standards should be understandable before the problem and useful when the problem arrives.
The point is not decorative ethics language. It is a shared way to make professional trust more consistent, explainable and accountable.
THE PRACTICE CODE IN ACTION
Seven standards that should be visible in the work.
The exact procedure changes with the role. The professional discipline should remain recognisable.
01
Independence and conflicts
Identify material relationships, disclose relevant circumstances, apply the governing conflict framework and continue checking when parties, affiliates, advisers or professional roles change.
02
Competence and acceptance
Accept only a role the professional can perform. Sector knowledge, process skill, jurisdictional context and specialist expertise should be assessed honestly rather than inferred from seniority.
03
Mandate and authority
Work within the authority granted. Do not become manager, director, investigator, legal adviser, regulator or decision-maker simply because the parties defer to the Neutral.
04
Information and confidentiality
Use information only as the role permits. Explain privacy limits accurately. Do not promise privilege, secrecy or anonymity beyond the legal and institutional framework.
05
Process and participation
Design participation proportionately to the function. Mediation, evaluation, chairing and determination do not require identical procedure, but each should remain understandable and professionally fair.
06
Professional conduct and communication
Use clear language, avoid overstatement, respect participants, communicate role boundaries and make professional standing easy to verify.
07
Output, closure and continuing obligations
Deliver the output the mandate authorises, state its effect accurately, end the role deliberately and preserve continuing confidentiality, record and disclosure obligations.
THE TEST IS THE EXCEPTION
Professional standards are easiest to recite when nothing unusual happens.
The real test comes when a participant asks for a private opinion outside the mandate, when a new affiliate creates a conflict, when a board wants the Neutral to decide something it still owns, when the mediator is asked to become evaluator, or when confidential information becomes relevant to another process. Standards give the professional a principled way to stop, explain and redesign before convenience becomes role drift.
INTERACTIVE STANDARDS LENS
Select the professional pressure. See the standard that should become visible.
STANDARD IN ACTION
Independence in practice
Check relationships before appointment, disclose material circumstances, revisit conflicts when actors or roles change and resist institutional pressure that would compromise the accepted professional function.
PROFESSIONAL RECORD
Standards should leave a proportionate trail without turning Neutral Practice into bureaucracy.
What material circumstances were surfaced
Disclosure and any response should be recorded according to the governing process.
What authority governed the work
The professional and participants should be able to identify the accepted role and any later change.
How the professional function was carried out
Only the record appropriate to the role should be preserved. Private Neutral notes may have different treatment from formal process records.
What was issued or agreed
Evaluation, agreement, decision, determination, meeting record or no formal output should be described accurately.
When professional authority ended
End date, continuing confidentiality, outstanding disclosure and record obligations should be known.
GOOD NEUTRAL PRACTICE
Keep learning. Keep doing better work. Keep something useful in the profession behind you.
Professional standards are not only restrictive rules. They create a foundation for better judgement, more credible practice development and a profession capable of learning from experience.
PROFESSIONAL DISCOVERY
Current public professional records
Only currently published professional records are shown.
PUBLIC PROFESSIONAL RECORD / Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Juvenalis Ngowi
Arbitrator & Mediator
mediationarbitrationBanking and Finance
Published record: After his graduation from the University of Dar es Salaam, Mr. Ngowi worked as an intern at the Attorney General’s Chambers for six months and later joined private law firm.…
PUBLIC PROFESSIONAL RECORD / Oregon, United States
Michael Grainey
Arbitrator & Mediator
mediationarbitrationombudsmanOilGas and Energy
Published record: Work Experience Michael W. Grainey, Consulting Principal, Salem, OR, June 2014 – current. CleanTech energy finance and project development; other energy and business development services. Named Renewable Energy Adviser of…
PUBLIC PROFESSIONAL RECORD / Mosta, Malta
Dr. Austin Sammut
Arbitrator & Mediator
mediationarbitrationBanking and FinanceHealthcare Disputes Practice GroupOil
Published record: Austin Sammut is a graduate in law, history, and economics from the University of Malta. He is a warranted advocate with the Maltese bar. He is also an accredited mediator…
PUBLIC PROFESSIONAL RECORD / Paris, France
Ana Gerdau de Borja
Arbitrator & Mediator
mediationarbitrationAviationBanking and FinanceEducation
Published record: Ana Gerdau de Borja Mercereau is a lawyer specializing in international arbitration, mediation and dispute boards. Admitted to the Brazilian Bar in 2006 and to the Portuguese Bar in 2008,…
STANDARDS ROUTES
Move from practice expectations into the detailed standards, ethics and professional boundaries.
STANDARD
Professional expectations should be written clearly enough to guide real work.
RECORD
Accountability should be proportionate to the professional function.
DEVELOP
Standards should support a professional life of learning, practice and contribution.
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN PRACTICE