Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 710 - ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
710 ILCS 35/ - Uniform Mediation Act.

(710 ILCS 35/1)
Sec. 1.
Title.
This Act may be cited as the Uniform Mediation Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/2)
Sec. 2.
Definitions.
In this Act:
(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/3)
Sec. 3.
Scope.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) or (c), this Act
applies to a mediation in which:
(b) The Act does not apply to a mediation:
(c) If the parties agree in advance in a signed record, or a record of
proceeding reflects
agreement by the parties, that all or part of a mediation is not privileged,
the privileges under Sections
4 through 6 do not apply to the mediation or part agreed upon. However,
Sections 4 through 6 apply to
a mediation communication made by a person that has not received actual notice
of the agreement before the communication is made.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/4)
Sec. 4.
Privilege against disclosure; admissibility; discovery.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 6, a mediation communication is
privileged as
provided in subsection (b) and is not subject to discovery or admissible in
evidence in a proceeding
unless waived or precluded as provided by Section 5.
(b) In a proceeding, the following privileges apply:
(c) Evidence or information that is otherwise admissible or subject to
discovery does not
become inadmissible or protected from discovery solely by reason of its
disclosure or use in a
mediation.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/5)
Sec. 5.
Waiver and preclusion of privilege.
(a) A privilege under Section 4 may be waived in a record or orally during a
proceeding if it is expressly waived by all parties to the mediation and:
(b) A person that discloses or makes a representation about a mediation
communication
which prejudices another person in a proceeding is precluded from asserting a
privilege under Section
4, but only to the extent necessary for the person prejudiced to respond to the
representation or disclosure.
(c) A person that intentionally uses a mediation to plan, attempt to commit
or commit a crime, or to conceal an ongoing crime or ongoing criminal activity
is precluded from asserting a privilege under Section 4.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/6)
Sec. 6.
Exceptions to privilege.
(a) There is no privilege under Section 4 for a mediation communication
that is:
(b) There is no privilege under Section 4 if a court, administrative agency,
or arbitrator finds, after a hearing in camera, that the party seeking
discovery or the proponent of the evidence has shown that the evidence is not
otherwise available, that there is a need for the evidence that substantially
outweighs the interest in protecting confidentiality, and that the mediation
communication is sought or offered in:
(c) A mediator may not be compelled to provide evidence of a mediation
communication referred to in subsection (a)(6) or (b)(2).
(d) If a mediation communication is not privileged under subsection (a) or
(b), only the portion of the communication necessary for the application of the
exception from nondisclosure may be admitted. Admission of evidence under
subsection (a) or (b) does not render the evidence, or any other mediation
communication, discoverable or admissible for any other purpose.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/7)
Sec. 7.
Prohibited mediator reports.
(a) Except as required in subsection (b), a mediator may not make a report,
assessment, evaluation, recommendation, finding, or other communication
regarding a mediation to a court, administrative agency, or other authority
that may make a ruling on the dispute that is the subject of the mediation.
(b) A mediator may disclose:
(c) A communication made in violation of subsection (a) may not be
considered by a court, administrative agency, or arbitrator.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/8)
Sec. 8.
Confidentiality.
Unless subject to the Open Meetings Act or the
Freedom of Information Act, mediation communications are confidential to the
extent agreed by the parties or provided by other law or rule of this State.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/9)
Sec. 9.
Mediator's disclosure of conflicts of interest; background.
(a) Before accepting a mediation, an individual who is requested to serve as
a mediator shall:
(b) If a mediator learns any fact described in subsection (a)(1) after
accepting a
mediation, the mediator shall disclose it as soon as is practicable.
(c) At the request of a mediation party, an individual who is requested to
serve as
a mediator shall disclose the mediator's qualifications to mediate a dispute.
(d) A person that violates subsection (a), (b), or (g) is precluded by the
violation from asserting a privilege under Section 4.
(e) Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (g) do not apply to an individual acting
as a judge.
(f) This Act does not require that a mediator have a special
qualification by
background or profession.
(g) A mediator must be impartial, unless after disclosure of the facts
required in
subsections (a) and (b) to be disclosed, the parties agree otherwise.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/10)
Sec. 10.
Participation in mediation.
An attorney or other individual
designated by a party may accompany the party to and participate in a
mediation. A waiver of participation given before the mediation may be
rescinded.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/11)
Sec. 11.

Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce
Act. This Act modifies, limits, or supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq., but this
Act does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act or
authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b)
of that Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/12)
Sec. 12.
Uniformity of application and construction.
In
applying and construing this Act, consideration must be given to the need
to promote
uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among States that
enact it.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/13)
Sec. 13.
Severability clause.
If any provision of this Act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect
other provisions or applications of this Act which can be given effect
without the
invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this
Act are severable.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/16)
Sec. 16.

Application to existing agreements or
referrals.
(a) This Act governs a mediation pursuant to a referral or an agreement
to mediate made on or after January 1, 2004.
(b) On or after January 1, 2004, this Act governs an agreement to
mediate whenever made.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/90)
Sec. 90.
(Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04; text omitted.)
 
(710 ILCS 35/99)
Sec. 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect January 1, 2004.

(Source: P.A. 93-399, eff. 1-1-04.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes