Rule 12.030 - DETERMINING AUTHORITY, DETERMINING MEDIATOR QUALIFICATIONS, OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY(1) The determining authority:(a) Is the entity within a judicial district with authority to determine whether applicants to become an approved mediator for courts within the judicial district meet the qualifications as described in these rules and whether approved mediators meet any continuing qualifications or obligations required by these rules.(b) Is the presiding judge of the judicial district unless the presiding judge has delegated the authority to be the determining authority as provided or allowed by statute. Delegation under this paragraph may be made to an entity chosen by the presiding judge to establish a mediation program as allowed by law or statute. A delegation must be in writing and, if it places any limitations on the presiding judge's ultimate authority to review and change decisions made by the delegatee, must be approved by the State Court Administrator before the delegation can be made.(2) Authority over qualifications. Subject to the following, a determining authority, for good cause, may allow appropriate substitutions, or obtain waiver, for any of the minimum qualifications for an approved mediator.(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, a determining authority that allows a substitution must, as a condition of approval, require the applicant to commit to a written plan to meet the minimum qualifications within a specified reasonable period of time. A determining authority that is not a presiding judge must notify the presiding judge of substitutions allowed under this subsection.(b) For good cause, a determining authority, other than the presiding judge for the judicial district, may petition the presiding judge for a waiver of specific minimum qualification requirements for a specific person to be an approved mediator. A presiding judge may waive any of the qualifications to be an approved mediator in an individual case with the approval of the State Court Administrator.(3) The determining authority may revoke a mediator's approved status at the determining authority's discretion, including in the event that the mediator no longer meets the requirements set forth in these rules.(4) The determining authority may authorize the use of an evaluation to be completed by the parties, for the purpose of monitoring program and mediator performance.(5) In those judicial districts where a mediator is assigned to a case by the court, or where mediators are assigned to a case by a program sponsored or authorized by the court, the determining authority shall ensure that parties to a mediation have access to information on:(a) How mediators are assigned to cases.(b) The nature of the mediator's affiliation with the court.(c) The process, if any, that a party can use to comment on, or object to the assignment or performance of a mediator.(6) The minimum qualifications of these rules have been met by an individual who is an approved mediator at the time these rules become effective if the individual has met the minimum requirements of Chief Justice Order 05-028, in effect prior to August 1, 2022.(7) The State Court Administrator may approve the successful completion of a standardized performance-based evaluation to substitute for formal degree requirements under UTCR 12.070 or 12.080 upon determining an appropriate evaluation process has been developed and can be used at reasonable costs and with reasonable efficiency.Or. Uni. Trial. Ct. R. 12.030
Adopted June 10, 2022, effective 8/1/2022.