Well, not exactly according to MEAC Opinion 2006-004. The question posed is “Can a Florida Supreme Court Certified mediator be sanctioned for behavior “unbecoming” of a mediator when participating in a mediation as a party or an attorney?”In summary the opinion of the Mediator Ethics Advisory Committee is:
A certified mediator is subject to a good moral character requirement and is prohibited from performing any act which would compromise the mediator’s integrity; however, there is no general prohibition regarding a mediator exhibiting behavior “unbecoming” a mediator. In addition, the actions of an attorney or a party in a mediation, cannot be judged as if they were those of a mediator.
After you read the facts submitted to MEAC, do you think the Florida Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators should be amended to include an ethical rule addressing the concept of “behavior unbecoming a mediator?” If you were the mediator in this case, how would you have addressed the situations?
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