How the private conciliation procedure works

Participation of the parties
In a conciliation process, each party may attend accompanied by their lawyer.

Appointment of the professional
The party proposing to start the conciliation is the one who will appoint the professional in charge of conducting it. This professional will draw up an engagement letter setting out the details of the procedure: type of meetings (individual and/or joint), format (in person or online) and other relevant aspects. Before starting, they will contact the other party to invite them to take part.

Invitation to conciliation
When a party receives the invitation, they must indicate whether or not they accept to take part in the process.

• If they do not accept, the matter may be taken directly to the courts.
• If they accept, the first meeting must be awaited to formally begin the procedure.

First meeting
The initial meeting marks the start of the process and has effects on the calculation of time limits. The conciliator will inform the parties of all the details and will draw up minutes recording: the conciliator’s identity, the parties involved, a description of the conflict, the date and the parties’ declaration of good faith.

Meeting minutes
After each meeting, minutes will be drawn up, signed by all the parties and accompanied by a certificate.

• If no agreement is reached, the minutes will record that an attempt was made without result.
• If a concrete proposal is reached and the parties agree to it, it will be recorded in the minutes and will be binding as the solution to the conflict.

This agreement may be raised to a public deed before a notary, and in this case the same matter can no longer be taken to court. If the agreement is breached, it may be enforced in the same way as a court decision.