ABSTRACT
Given this framework, we define mediation in a dispute or negotiation as the ‘intervention of a third party unfamiliar to the conflict, trustable, unbiased and intending to be neutral’. According to Moore (1986), being a mediator involves artful skills to assist the parties in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on the issues in dispute. The task of a mediator is creating the conditions for an open dialogue and assuring the parties involved in the conflict freedom of speech and, above all, autonomy in decision making.
