Article 1 : Agreement
1. The mini-trial Rules shall apply to disputes between
parties that have agreed to them in writing.
2. That agreement may be set forth in a clause of the
contract, or reached after the dispute has arisen.
Article 2 : Lack of a mini-trial clause
If it appears that there is no mini-trial clause, the
mini-trial cannot take place should Respondent not answer within
the twenty-one day period mentioned in Article 4, or should
Respondent refuse the mini-trial through CEPANI.
Article 3 : Request for a mini-trial
1. The party that wishes to resort to a mini-trial shall
send its Request to the Secretariat of CEPANI.
2. This Request shall contain, inter alia, the following
particulars :
- Full name, capacity, address and telephone and fax
numbers of each party;
- A recital of the nature and circumstances of the dispute
that gives rise to the claim;
- The object of the claim, a summary of the means invoked
and, if possible, a financial assessment of the claim;
- Full name, capacity, address and telephone and fax
numbers of the assessor appointed by Claimant to sit on the
mini-trial committee;
- The seat and language of the mini-trial.
3. Together with the Request, Claimant shall provide
copies of all agreements, of the general or specific mandate of its
assessor, of the correspondence between the parties and, if any,
other relevant documents.
4. Claimant shall submit the Request and its enclosures to
the Secretariat of CEPANI, in four copies, and shall also provide
proof of the dispatch to Respondent of the Request and the
enclosures thereto.
5. The mini-trial shall be deemed to have begun on the day
the Secretariat of CEPANI receives the Request and its
enclosures.
Article 4 : Answer to the Request for a
mini-trial
1. Within twenty-one days of the notification to
Respondent of the Request for a mini-trial by the Secretariat of
CEPANI, Respondent shall send its Answer to the Request for a
mini-trial to the Secretariat of CEPANI. Respondent shall state its
views on the nature and circumstances of the dispute that gives
rise to the claim, state its counterclaim, if any, and submit as
well all exhibits and information in support of its
defence.
2. The Answer shall also mention the full name, capacity,
address and telephone and fax numbers of the assessor appointed by
Respondent to sit on the mini-trial committee.
3. Respondent shall submit its Answer and its enclosures
to the Secretary of CEPANI in four copies and shall also provide
proof of the dispatch of its Answer and enclosures thereto to
Claimant.
Article 5 : Notifications and communications
All notifications and communications made in pursuance of
these Rules shall be valid if they are made by delivery against
receipt, by registered mail, by courier, fax or any other means of
telecommunication that proves their dispatch. Such notifications
shall be valid if dispatched to the address or last known address
of the addressee.
Article 6 : The mini-trial committee
1. The mini-trail committee shall be composed of a
mediator, who shall chair the committee, and the two assessors
appointed by and empowered to bind each party by general or
specific mandate.
2. Should more than two parties be involved in the
mini-trial, then each party shall appoint one assessor to sit on
the committee, unless otherwise agreed.
3. The mediator shall be appointed by the Appointments
Committee or the Chairman of CEPANI after the parties, or one of
them, will have paid the advance which the Secretariat of CEPANI
may consider necessary to cover the costs of the
mini-trial.
Article 7 : Proceedings
1. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the mini-trial
shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of these
Rules.
2. If necessary, and after having consulted with his
assessors, the mediator may depart from the Rules set forth
herein.
Article 8 : Language
The language of the mini-trial shall be agreed by the
parties.
Failing such an agreement, the language or languages to be
used shall be determined by the mediator, after having consulted
with his assessors, due regard being given to the circumstances
and, in particular, to the language of the contract.
Article 9 : Seat of the mini-trial
1. The Appointments Committee or the Chairman of CEPANI
shall determine the seat of the mini-trial, unless the parties have
agreed this between themselves.
2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, and after
having consulted with them, the mini-trial committee may hold its
hearings and meetings at any other place it considers
appropriate.
3. The mini-trial committee may deliberate at any place
that it considers appropriate.
Article 10 : Transmission of the file
1. Once the mini-trial committee has been appointed, the
mediator and his assessors shall receive a copy of the Request and
of the Answer.
2. The mediator may, after consultation with his
assessors, ask the parties to provide additional information and
exhibits.
Article 11 : Meetings
1. After consultation with his assessors and with the
parties, the mediator shall determine the day, time and place of a
meeting with the parties.
2. The mediator shall chair the meeting and offer the
parties an opportunity to put forth their views.
Article 12 : Representation
The parties shall either appear in person or through a
representative. They are entitled to be assisted or represented by
counsel.
Article 13 : Consultation
1. After the meeting, the mediator shall consult with his
assessors and attempt to reach a consensus.
2. In this respect, the mediator shall have the broadest
powers to undertake whatever can, in his opinion, reasonably bring
about a settlement.
To this end, he may, inter alia, consult with each of his
assessors separately.
Article 14 : Settlement
1. Should these consultations lead to a settlement, the
agreement shall be set forth in writing and signed by the assessors
in the name and on behalf of the parties.
The mediator shall send the settlement agreement to the
Secretariat of CEPANI, which shall notify it to the parties,
provided they have, or one of them has, paid the full cost of the
proceedings.
2. However, should the consultations fail to bring about a
settlement, the mediator shall duly inform the Secretariat of
CEPANI.
Article 15 : End of mini-trial
1. The mini-trial comes to an end when a settlement is
reached.
2. If no settlement is reached, the mini-trial shall end
as soon as the mediator informs the Secretariat of CEPANI of the
failure in writing.
3. Should one of the parties fail to appear in the
proceedings after having been duly summoned, the mini-trial shall
end as soon as the mediator will have informed the Secretariat of
CEPANI of this in writing.
4. Either party may, at any time, refuse to continue the
mini-trial proceedings. In that case, the mini-trial ends when
written notification of that party's refusal is sent to the
mediator and the Secretariat of CEPANI.
5. The mediator may also decide, after consultation with
his assessors, that there is no further justification for
continuing the mini-trial.
In that case, the mini-trial ends as soon as the mediator
will have informed the Secretariat of CEPANI of this in
writing.
Article 16 : Judicial or arbitral proceedings
1. During the mini-trial, the parties undertake not to
initiate or continue any judicial or arbitral proceedings relating
to the same dispute, except as a conservatory measure.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 here above, the parties may
apply to the Court or to the arbitrator(s) a request for
conservatory or provisional measures.
Such a request does not entail a renunciation to pursue
the mini-trial.
Article 17 : The duties of the members of the mini-trial
committee and of the parties and counsel
1. The members of the mini-trial committee, the parties
and their counsel, shall be bound by strict
confidentiality.
2. Under no circumstances may any mention be made in
judicial or arbitral proceedings of anything which was done, said
or written towards a settlement that eventually failed to be
reached.
3. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the mediator is
prevented from acting as an arbitrator, judge, representative or
counsel of a party in judicial or arbitral proceedings relating to
the dispute which was the subject of a mini-trial
procedure.
Article 18 : Costs
1. The mini-trial costs shall include the costs and fees
of the mediator, as well as CEPANI's administrative costs in
accordance with the mini-trial Schedule of costs in force at the
beginning of the mini-trial.
2. The Secretariat of CEPANI shall determine the amount of
the advance deemed necessary to cover the cost of the mini-trial as
soon as it shall have received the Request.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, the parties shall each bear
one half of the final cost of the mini-trial as determined by the
Secretariat of CEPANI.
4. The costs and fees of each assessor shall be borne by
the party that has appointed him.
Article 19 : Rules of good conduct for
mediators
Only those persons who are independent of the parties and
of their counsel, and who comply with the rules of good conduct set
out in Schedule II, may serve as mediators in mini-trials organised
by CEPANI.
Cost of mini-trial and conciliation scale
1. The mini-trial and conciliation costs shall be
determined by the Secretariat of CEPANI in relation with the amount
in dispute and within the limits mentioned hereinafter:
- From 0 to 2.500 Euros : 90 to 250 Euros
- From 2.500 to 7.500 Euros : (with a minimum of 325 Euros)
7,5 to 9%
- From 7.500 to 12.500 Euros : (with a minimum of 450
Euros) 5 to 6%
- From 12.500 to 25.000 Euros : (with a minimum of 500
Euros) 3,75 to 5%
- From 25.000 to 75.000 Euros : (with a minimum of 750
Euros) 1,5 to 3%
- From 75.000 to 124.000 Euros : (with a minimum of 1.250
Euros) 1,25 to 2,5%
- From 124.000 to 250.000 Euros : (with a minimum of 1.500
Euros) 1,15 to 1,5%
- From 250.000 to 625.000 Euros : (with a minimum of 3.100
Euros) 1 to 1,25%
- From 625.000 to 1.250.000 Euros : (with a minimum of
6.250 Euros) 0,75 to 1%
- From 1.250.000 to 2.500.000 Euros : (with a minimum of
9.250 Euros) 0,65 to 0,75%
- From 2.500.000 to 5.000.000 Euros : (between a minimum of
15.500 Euros and a maximum of 25.000 Euros)
- From 5.000.000 to 12.500.000 Euros : (between a minimum
of 22.500 Euros and a maximum of 37.500 Euros)
- 12.500.000 Euros and over : (between a minimum of 35.000
Euros and a maximum of 45.000 Euros)
2. These amounts include the administrative costs of
CEPANI, which shall not exceed 10% of the total mini-trial or
conciliation costs. The administrative costs are subject to
VAT.
3. When the mediator or conciliator is subject to VAT, he
shall inform the Secretariat of CEPANI accordingly, which shall
thereupon charge the parties with the VAT owed on their
fees.
4. Whenever the circumstances of the case so require, the
aforementioned minimum and maximum amounts may be increased, after
having heard the mini-trial committee or the conciliator and the
parties, as the case may be.
5. The mini-trial committee and the conciliator shall only
deal with those claims for which the advance has been
paid.