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Civil & Commercial Mediation in South Africa

Litigation is a public, slow and expensive way to find out what you could have agreed.

Confidential, Rule 41A-aligned commercial mediation for South African businesses and the legal representatives who advise them. Protect value, preserve relationships and resolve disputes discreetly — in weeks, not years.

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When civil and commercial mediation applies

Any dispute where the relationship, the capital or the reputation is worth more than the argument.

We serve directors, shareholders, founders and their advisors across the full range of civil and commercial matters.

  1. Shareholder and director disputes, deadlock and exit

  2. Contract and supply-chain disagreements

  3. Family business succession and continuity

  4. Restraint of trade, employment exits and partnership dissolution

  5. Property, lease and landlord–tenant matters

  6. Construction, professional negligence and delictual claims

Why business leaders choose mediation

Litigation is a public, slow and expensive way to find out what you could have agreed.

  • 01

    Confidential

    Mediation proceedings are private. The details of the dispute, the parties involved and the outcome do not become part of the public record.

  • 02

    Protecting value

    Disputes resolved in weeks preserve capital, management attention and the enterprise itself; litigation consumes all three.

  • 03

    Preserving relationships

    Suppliers, partners and co-shareholders are usually still needed after the dispute. Mediation is built to leave those relationships workable.

  • 04

    Speed and control

    The parties, not a court, decide the outcome — and they decide it on commercial terms a judgment could never order.

How a commercial mediation unfolds

Scoped, appointed, mediated, settled.

Legal representatives and in-house advisors participate throughout; expert input is arranged under the same confidentiality.

  1. Initial consultation and scoping

    We establish the issues, the parties, the commercial context and whether mediation is the right route — plainly.

  2. Appointment of a neutral mediator

    An accredited commercial mediator is appointed by agreement, with the Rule 41A notice prepared or reviewed where litigation is on foot.

  3. Structured mediation sessions

    Joint and private sessions, with valuers, forensic accountants or industry specialists brought in where the numbers require it.

  4. Settlement agreement

    Drafted to be made an order of court where proceedings exist, or as a binding commercial agreement where they do not.

Rule 41A and the Gauteng Mediation Protocol

In Gauteng, mediation is now a practical precondition to a trial date.

Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules of Court — official consolidated text, Department of Justice (opens in a new tab) requires parties in High Court proceedings across South Africa to indicate, at the outset of a matter, whether they agree to refer their dispute to mediation. The Courts also have discretion to direct parties to consider mediation at any stage before judgment. Since April 2025 the Gauteng Division’s Mediation Protocol — official PDF, Judiciary of South Africa (opens in a new tab) goes further: where a trial date is at risk, an amplified notice proposing a mediator; appointment by the Mediation Judge (Umpire) where the parties cannot agree; a mediation window that ordinarily closes 30 days after the first joint minute is signed; and a Mediator’s Report, filed within 10 court days, before a trial date is allocated or restored.

MV Inc.’s mediators meet the Protocol’s requirements and conduct Rule 41A mediations to a documented, court-aligned process. Your litigation strategy is preserved throughout; only the dispute changes.

Frequently asked

Questions boards and legal teams ask first.

  • Is commercial mediation confidential?

    Yes. It is conducted without prejudice under a written agreement to mediate. Nothing said or disclosed can be used in later litigation, and no part of the process enters the public record.

  • Is mediation compulsory in Gauteng?

    Since April 2025, the Gauteng Division’s Mediation Protocol requires parties to attempt mediation and obtain a Mediator’s Report before a civil trial date will be allocated or restored. Elsewhere, Rule 41A requires the parties to state their position on mediation, and a court may direct them to consider it.

  • How long does it take?

    Under the Gauteng Protocol, mediation ordinarily concludes within 30 days of the joint minute being signed — often in a single day’s session once preparation is done. Litigation of the same dispute typically runs for years.

  • Is the settlement legally binding?

    Yes. A settlement agreement is a binding contract and, where proceedings are pending, is drafted to be made an order of court.

  • What kinds of disputes are suitable?

    Almost any civil or commercial dispute: shareholder and contractual matters, succession, restraints, property and delictual claims. The exceptions are matters requiring urgent interdictory relief or a public precedent.

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Begin discreetly

A private conversation before anything else.

Tell us, in confidence, what your business is facing. We will tell you plainly whether mediation is the right route — and if it is not, who to speak to instead.

Malan Vermeulen Incorporated (MV Inc.)
Ground Floor, Quadrum 3, 50 Constantia Boulevard,
Floracliffe, Johannesburg, 1709, South Africa
010 980 5160 · [email protected]

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    Enquiries are privileged and without prejudice. No obligation.