Mediation Council Nepal 2026 — Mediator Registration

Section 5 of the Mediation Act 2068 — Nepali citizen, 25+ years, Bachelor's degree, Council-recognised training (40-48 hours), no moral-turpitude conviction. Registration renews every 3 years.

60-75% in property and family matters per practitioner consensus. Community mediation through Judicial Committees reports 80-90% in NGO data.

Authenticated on 26 Baisakh 2068 BS (9 May 2011), Act No. 2 of 2068. Umbrella legislation governing court-annexed mediation, community mediation, and private mediation in Nepal. Establishes the Mediation Council Nepal, mediator qualifications, training framework, code of conduct, and enforcement of mediated agreements. Operationalised by the Mediation Regulations 2070 (2013). Replaces ad-hoc mediation arrangements that existed before 2011 and establishes Nepal's first comprehensive statutory framework for ADR.

Typically 8 days / 40-48 hours under Council-recognised curricula. Covers neutrality and language, communication skills, negotiation principles, the art of questioning, mediation steps (opening, joint session, caucus, drafting), and national mediation laws (Mediation Act 2068, Local Government Operation Act 2074, Civil Procedure Code 2074, Labour Act 2074 Sec 118). The Council approves both the curriculum and the institutions authorised to deliver it. Several NGO and government-linked training agencies operate; verify the current authorised-trainer list at mediationcouncil.gov.np.

3 years from issuance. Renewal requires a fresh application to the Mediation Council with updated documents — citizenship copy, no-conviction declaration, training-update certification (where continuing education is required), and the prescribed renewal fee. The Council reviews the renewal against the original Section 5 criteria plus any disciplinary record. Failure to renew lapses the registration; re-registration after lapse may require restarting the training and certification process.

Court-annexed mediation typically pays a per-case fee in the NPR 2,000-10,000 range set by court order, with higher amounts for high-value commercial matters. Community mediation through Judicial Committees is typically pro-bono or honorarium-based. Private commercial mediation for commercial disputes (construction, contract, real estate, joint-venture, employment) pays materially more — practitioner-cited ranges NPR 25,000-200,000 per matter depending on complexity and value. The Mediation Council does not set fee tariffs; mediator-and-party agreement governs private fees.

Mediation referred by the court before adversarial litigation proceeds. Introduced in District Courts in 2003 via the 4th amendment to the District Court Rules 1995, extended to Appellate Court and Supreme Court in 2006, codified under the Mediation Act 2068 in 2011. Civil Procedure Code 2074 Sections 193-195 mandate mediation attempts in property division and family matters before litigation can continue. The High-Level Mediation Committee chaired by a Supreme Court Justice regulates court-mediation nationwide. Settlement rates 60-75% in property and family matters.

Mediation handled by Judicial Committees at the ward / municipality level under the Local Government Operation Act 2074 (2017). The committee is chaired by the Deputy Mayor or Deputy Chair and includes elected representatives. Jurisdiction covers civil, family and minor criminal disputes within the local-government jurisdiction. Community mediation must complete within 3 months; appeal to the District Court within 90 days. Settlement rates reported at 80-90% by NGOs. Community mediation has materially expanded since 2017 — a major access-to-justice initiative for rural and lower-income parties.

Mediation is a facilitated negotiation — the mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement; the mediator does not impose an outcome. Arbitration is an adjudicative process — the arbitrator decides the dispute and the parties are bound by the award. The Mediation Act 2068 covers mediation; the Arbitration Act 2055 (1999) covers arbitration. Both are ADR methods, but the dynamics, costs, and outcomes differ. Mediation is often faster and cheaper but depends on party willingness to settle; arbitration delivers a binding outcome regardless of party agreement at the end. Many commercial agreements include a multi-tier ADR clause — mediation first, then arbitration if mediation fails.

A mediated settlement agreement is enforceable as a court order when the mediation was court-annexed — the court endorses the agreement and incorporates it into the case disposal order under Civil Procedure Code 2074 Sec 193-195. In community mediation, the Judicial Committee records the settlement and it has the force of a local-government order. In private mediation, the agreement is a contract between the parties enforceable through the standard civil-suit framework if breached. Best practice in all streams is for the agreement to be in writing, signed by all parties, witnessed, and notarised where the asset / amount value is significant.

Yes. Mediation is confidential under the Mediation Act 2068 framework — the mediator cannot disclose what was discussed in caucus or joint sessions, and the parties' communications during mediation are not admissible as evidence in subsequent litigation if the mediation fails. The confidentiality protection is a critical structural feature that encourages parties to be candid. Specific exceptions apply for child-protection disclosures, criminal offences, and certain regulatory reporting obligations. The mediator's code of conduct administered by the Council reinforces the confidentiality duty.

Yes. The Mediation Act 2068 does not require a mediator to be a lawyer. The qualification under Section 5 is a Bachelor's degree (any subject) plus Council-recognised training (40-48 hours). The Council's mediator panel includes lawyers, retired judges, civil servants, NGO professionals, social workers, businesspeople and academics. Different mediator backgrounds suit different matters — lawyer-mediators for complex commercial / property disputes, social-worker mediators for family / domestic disputes, technical-expert mediators for construction / engineering disputes. The party-mediator fit matters more than the mediator's professional background.

The Mediation Regulations 2070 (2013) are the operational rules under the Mediation Act 2068. They set out the Mediation Council's procedural rules, mediator-application format, training-institution accreditation, code of conduct, complaint handling, and disciplinary procedure. Together with the Act, the Regulations form the binding regulatory framework. The Council publishes notices and directives under the Regulations periodically — verify the current text at mediationcouncil.gov.np and lawcommission.gov.np for any planned application or registration.

The Council's code of conduct requires mediators to maintain neutrality, confidentiality, and impartiality; disclose any conflicts of interest; refrain from imposing outcomes on parties; respect party autonomy and self-determination; preserve the integrity of the process; complete mediations promptly; charge only the agreed fee; and engage in continuing professional development. Breach of the code attracts Council disciplinary action — warning, suspension or removal from the roster. Three-member Disciplinary Committees handle complaints under the Regulations. The code is binding on all registered mediators across all three streams.

Civil disputes (contract, property, partition, inheritance, landlord-tenant, consumer); family matters (divorce, maintenance, child custody, marital property); commercial disputes (construction, joint-venture, real estate, intellectual property); employment matters (terms, dismissal, benefits — overlapping with Labour Act 2074 Sec 118); minor criminal offences in community mediation under local government framework. Excluded: serious criminal offences (rape, murder, kidnapping), constitutional matters, public-interest litigation, election disputes, statutory non-derogable rights. The mediator and parties together can determine whether a matter is mediation-appropriate.

Section 118 of the Labour Act 2074 routes labour disputes to the Labour and Employment Office for mediation. The Labour Officer (a government officer, not a private mediator) conducts the mediation under a 30-day window, extendable by mutual party consent. If mediation succeeds, the agreement is recorded and enforceable. If mediation fails, the dispute escalates to the Labour Court. Labour mediation is administrative — distinct from the court-annexed / community / private streams under the Mediation Act 2068. Common matters: unfair dismissal, retrenchment compensation, benefit arrears, sexual harassment complaints (alongside Sec 14 mechanism).

An aggrieved party can appeal from a community mediation outcome at the ward / municipality Judicial Committee to the District Court within 90 days. The District Court reviews on grounds of process irregularity, exceeding jurisdiction, or failure to honour confidentiality / neutrality requirements. Substantive review on the merits is limited — the court generally respects the mediated outcome where the process was properly conducted. Appeals from court-annexed mediation outcomes are limited because the parties consented to the settlement; the High Court / Supreme Court can review on grounds of fundamental procedural breach but not merits.

The Council does not publish the active mediator roster count as a public-facing statistic. Practitioner sources cite Nepal Mediators Society membership at approximately 200 trained mediators including judges, lawyers, FNCCI affiliates, and social activists, but the full Council roster is larger when District-Court-referred mediators and community-mediation participants are counted. The number has grown materially since 2011 with each training cycle adding new registrations. For the current roster size and active-mediator count, contact the Mediation Council at +977-1-4200711.

On the litigant side — for strategic decisions in court-annexed mediation (when to settle, what to insist on, how to draft the binding agreement), for community-mediation appeals to the District Court, for labour-mediation positioning before Labour Office sessions, and for private-mediation participation in commercial matters. On the professional-development side — for guidance on the registered-mediator pathway, choice of training institution, and registration application. A lawyer also drafts mediation clauses in commercial contracts (mediation-then-arbitration multi-tier clauses are common).