Informed consent is an ethical, moral, and legal concept, that is grounded in individual self determination. In those transactions wherein informed consent is required, the legal doctrine requires that individuals who give consent be competent, informed about the particular intervention, and consent voluntarily. The principle of informed consent is the means of measuring autonomy in decision making between physicians and patients, and, to a lesser degree, between lawyers and clients. There are two separate aspects of the principle: disclosure and consent. IV. PROBLEMS IN CURRENT LANDSCAPE The current structure of mediation does not include a well-established and functioning principle of informed consent. While scholars have acknowledged …show more content…
A dynamic theory of informed consent is achieved when the parties are wholly educated about mediation prior to their consent to participate in it, that they voluntarily continue to participate and negotiate, and that they understand the outcomes to which they agree. Informed consent serves the values of autonomy, human dignity, and efficiency. It ensures that the process is free from coercion, ignorance, and incapacity that can otherwise negate the consensual underpinnings of the mediation process. A theory of informed consent for mediation must take into account not only the relationship between the principle of informed consent and the values it serves, but how this principle should function in the parties' decision making acts, the practices which foster it, and its …show more content…
It should promote their general understanding of how mediation differs from adjudication, the mediator's role and how it differs from that of an arbitrator or judge, the specific norms that will govern the procedural aspects of the process, and the rules governing consent. "Outcome disclosure" should be such that it is sufficient to enable the parties to arrive at an agreement relying on sound judgment. It requires that parties have a general understanding of and address the relevant facts and understand their own interests and values. 2. ELEMENTS OF CONSENT There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the concept of consent in mediation. Status quo is such that it often assumes that the parties consent to enter into the mediation process carries over to: a) continued participation and negotiations in mediation, b) reaching an agreement in mediation, and c) accepting the outcome that is reached. The fact however is that each of these processes, are separate aspects of decision making in a mediation and require consent. It is essential that the parties are aware of their right to walk away from the mediation at any time during the