                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

QUALIFICATIONS OF NEUTRALS; REFERRAL (§ 8.01-576.8)

A neutral who provides dispute resolution services other than mediation pursuant
to this chapter shall provide the court with a written statement of
qualifications, describing the neutral&#8217;s background and relevant training
and experience in the field. A dispute resolution program may satisfy the
requirements of this section on behalf of its neutrals by providing the court
with a written statement of the background, training, experience, and
certification, as appropriate, of any neutral who participates in its program. A
neutral who desires to provide mediation and receive referrals from the court
shall be certified pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Judicial Council of
Virginia. The court shall maintain a list of mediators certified pursuant to
guidelines promulgated by the Judicial Council and may maintain a list of
neutrals and dispute resolution programs which have met the requirements of this
section. The list may be divided among the areas of specialization or expertise
of the neutrals.
		At the conclusion of the orientation session, or no later than ten days
thereafter, parties electing to continue with the dispute resolution proceeding
may: (i) continue with the neutral who conducted the orientation session, (ii)
select any neutral or dispute resolution program from the list maintained by the
court to conduct such proceedings, or (iii) pursue any other alternative for
voluntarily resolving the dispute to which the parties agree. If the parties
choose to proceed with the dispute resolution proceeding but are unable to agree
on a neutral or dispute resolution program during that period, the court shall
refer the case to a neutral or dispute resolution program who accepts such
referrals, on the list maintained by the court on the basis of a fair and
equitable rotation, taking into account the subject matter of the dispute and
the expertise of the neutral, as appropriate. If one or more of the parties is
indigent or no agreement as to payment is reached between the parties and a
neutral, the court shall set a reasonable fee for the service of any neutral who
accepts such referral pursuant to this paragraph.

HISTORY: 1993, c. 905; 2002, c. 718.