Uniform Mediation Act - Privilege Versus Confidentiality
Privilege and confidentiality can be easily understood in the following manner:
- Privilege refers to what mediation communications may or may not be disclosed in subsequent legal proceedings after the mediation is over. The UMA broadly protects against the disclosure of mediation communications by granting three varying mediation privileges (to mediation parties, the mediator and nonparty mediation participants), with certain enumerated exceptions.
- The issue and extent of confidentiality, on the other hand, is decided by the parties prior to the mediation and usually solidified in a contract.