Revista da EMERJ - V. 20 - N. 2 - Maio/Agosto - 2018

 R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 20, n. 2, p. 73 - 115, Maio/Agosto 2018  105 The current Practice Direction governing mediation in the courts is Practice Direction No 4 of 2016. (PD) Further, the Court Mediation Centres set up by the judiciary in all the States across the country have their respective ‘Rules’, which prescribe the mediation procedures of the Centre. As for the Industrial Court, Practice Note No 3 of 2010, governs the use of mediation in the aforesaid courts. Further, Section 7(2)(c) of the Act provides that the Act shall not apply to the mediators conducting mediation at the Legal Aid Department. What kind of training is required - - how many hours and main to- pics taught? The Mediation Act 2012 does not provide any requirement as to the kind of training programme or the number of hours one has to undergo before one can hold themselves out as a mediator. As such, there is no uniformity in the country for the type of training program- me conducted for certification as a mediator. The individual mediation institutions mentioned above namely MMC, KLRCA and CIDB have their own criteria for accreditation and regulation. There is no consistency in the criteria for practice betwe- en the organizations. Typically, the training programme consists of a 40 hours mediation skills training programme that provide certifica- tion as a mediator. Only upon successfully completing the aforesaid training which includes an oral assessment, will certification be given to practise as a sole mediator. The topics covered in the Facilitative Mediation process model skills training programme include the following: - Overview of dispute resolution processes - Litigation vs Mediation - Advantages of mediation - Negotiation skills - Pre-Mediation - The Agreement to Mediate - The First Joint Session . the mediator’s opening statement