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Confidentiality in mediation: your guarantees, in black and white
"If I say in mediation how much I would be willing to pay, and the mediation fails — can that be used against me in court?" It is one of the questions we hear most often at our office, and rightly so: without solid confidentiality guarantees, nobody would negotiate openly. The good news: the guarantees exist and they are written into the law. Below we take them one by one — what the law says, who is bound to silence, what the protection covers and, just as importantly, where its limits are.
The legal guarantees, in short
Confidentiality in mediation is not a polite promise but a legal obligation built on three levels that reinforce each other:
- The mediator is bound by professional secrecy. Under Law no. 192/2006, the mediator may not disclose information learned during mediation and may not be heard as a witness about it, except in the cases strictly provided by law or with the parties' prior, express written consent.
- The mediation contract enshrines confidentiality. The obligation is stipulated in black and white in the mediation contract signed at the start of the procedure, and it binds the parties as well — not just the mediator. Whoever breaches the clause is liable under the contract.
- Statements made in mediation are not evidence. Proposals, admissions and declarations made during mediation cannot be used as evidence in judicial or arbitral proceedings, save for the exceptions provided by law or where the parties agree otherwise (Article 53 of Law no. 192/2006). In other words: what is said at the mediation table stays, within the limits of the law, at the mediation table.
And these guarantees kick in early: from the information session onwards — which is free of charge — your discussion with us is covered by professional secrecy. If you would first like the full picture of the procedure, we have explained step by step how mediation works.
Key takeaway
The mediator's professional secrecy does not expire. The obligation stands even after the mediation ends, whether or not an agreement was signed, and the mediator cannot be called as a witness about what was discussed, except in the cases strictly provided by law or with the parties' prior, express written consent.
Who is bound by confidentiality
A frequent doubt: "fine, the mediator keeps quiet — but the other party? And the expert who saw my documents?" Here is the complete picture:
| Who | Bound by what | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| The mediator | Professional secrecy imposed by Law no. 192/2006 | Discloses nothing and cannot be heard as a witness, save for the exceptions strictly provided by law |
| The parties | The confidentiality clause in the mediation contract | Cannot use statements from the mediation as evidence in judicial or arbitral proceedings, save for the exceptions provided by law or agreed upon, and are contractually liable if they disclose |
| Experts and advisers | A confidentiality undertaking assumed before joining | Specialists brought into the procedure (valuers, accountants, the parties' lawyers) are bound by the same silence |
What the protection actually covers
Within the limits of the law, the protection covers everything connected to the mediation:
- the existence and content of the discussions held at the mediation table;
- the documents prepared for the mediation and those exchanged within it;
- the proposals, compromise options and amounts mentioned;
- even — if the parties so wish — the mere fact that mediation took place.
Separate sessions: an extra layer
When we work in separate sessions with each party, confidentiality gains an extra layer: what one party tells us privately does not reach the other party without its explicit permission. This simple rule makes possible the conversations in which someone can tell us "I would accept even less, but I don't want them to know yet" — invaluable information for building the agreement, and hard to imagine in a public court hearing.
Where the limits are
Full transparency: confidentiality is not absolute, and anyone who promised you otherwise would not be telling you the truth.
Caution
The mediator may — and sometimes must — break silence where the law expressly requires it: for instance, to protect the best interests of a child, or upon learning of facts that endanger a person's life or integrity. These are rare, strictly defined exceptions, not loopholes.
Why it matters so much in the negotiation
Confidentiality changes the framework of the negotiation. Before the court, the parties' positions are recorded in procedural documents and remain on file. In mediation, protected by confidentiality, within the limits of the law, the parties can afford to call things by their name: what actually hurts, what they can actually pay, what would actually be enough. From such an open dialogue, agreements can be built that the parties take on with full knowledge of the facts.
And the result is not left as a mere informal understanding: the final agreement may acquire enforceable character through notarial authentication, through the court's approval by way of a consent judgment, or through the verification and attestation of the agreement by the parties' lawyers or by a notary, under the conditions of the law (Article 58 of Law no. 192/2006, including paragraph 2^1 introduced by Law no. 154/2019) — we have explained at length the legal force of the mediation agreement.
Reputation: the quiet advantage
For companies and professionals, discretion also matters: court hearings are, as a rule, public, and information about cases may become accessible to third parties. Mediation takes place in a private setting, and the information from the procedure is protected by confidentiality, within the limits of the law — neither the claims, nor the defences, nor the final compromise are intended for the public. It is no coincidence that confidentiality is among the first reasons why companies consider commercial mediation.
Want to check a specific detail?
We have gathered the most frequent questions — including about confidentiality — on our frequently asked questions page. And if your situation has its own particularities, you can write to us: the conversation is confidential, within the limits of the law, from the very first message, and the information session about mediation is free of charge.
Legal sources: Romanian Law no. 192/2006 on mediation and the organisation of the mediator profession, consolidated form consulted on 14 July 2026. Last legal review of this article: 14 July 2026.
