What is administrative mediation?

Verified 01 April 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Before going to court to challenge an administrative decision, you can first try to find an amicable solution through mediation. Sometimes mediation is even a mandatory prerequisite for litigation. This is the case for certain civil service disputes and certain social disputes.

General case

Administrative mediation is optional: you are free to use this procedure or not.

Mediation is an amicable method of resolving disputes with the help of a mediator.

We're talking about administrative mediation when your opponent is a public service or an administration. The role of the mediator is to help you start a dialog with the administration to reach an agreement.

Mediation may cover the whole dispute or only part of the dispute.

If you challenge a decision of the administration that is subject to an administrative appeal, you can seek mediation.

The mediator may be chosen by you or by the administration. It may also be designated by the administrative court, with your agreement.

The mediator may be a natural person or a legal person.

In the case of a natural person, he must possess the qualification required for the subject-matter of the dispute. They must also have training or experience appropriate to the practice of mediation.

The Ombudsman undertakes to respect a ethical charter. It must respect the principles of confidentiality, impartiality and neutrality.

You can inquire at the administrative court to have the contact details of mediators competent for your dispute.

Who shall I contact

There are 3 ways to do this:

  • Fully organize mediation with the administration and jointly appoint the mediator
  • Organize mediation with the administration (scope of the dispute, duration, etc.), but ask the administrative court which would have jurisdiction in case of appeal to appoint the mediator
  • Ask the administrative court to organize the mediation completely.

If you appeal to the judge, you can apply to the administrative court:

  • Either by mail on free paper
  • Either by e-mail (the address appears on the website of each jurisdiction)
Who shall I contact

When the judge is seized of a dispute, he may propose mediation in an attempt to reach an agreement between the parties.

It sets a time limit for the parties to the dispute to respond to this proposal.

The decision ordering mediation shall include the following information:

  • Agreement of the Parties
  • Appointment of the mediator, duration of his assignment and amount of his remuneration

The decision is notified the Ombudsman and the parties.

Mediation shall be subject to the principle of confidentiality except in the following cases:

  • Contrary agreement of the parties
  • Public policy grounds relating to the protection of the best interests of the child or the integrity of a person
  • Need to know the content of the mediated agreement to implement it

You may be assisted before the Ombudsman by any person of your choice.

The judge shall terminate the mediation at the request of either party or the mediator.

It may also decide to stop it when it considers that the proper conduct of the mediation is compromised.

The judge can validate and enforce the agreement resulting from the mediation.

It is not possible to appeal the judge's decision.

Where the task of mediation is entrusted to a person outside the court, the judge shall decide whether it is necessary to remunerate him or her and shall fix the amount of the remuneration.

The President of the court may grant the Ombudsman, at his request, a provisional allowance. The amount paid will be deducted from his remuneration.

When the costs of mediation are borne by the parties, you must discuss with the administration to make the allocation.

If there is no agreement, these costs shall be shared equally, unless the judge considers that such sharing is unfair having regard to the economic situation of the parties.

When legal aid you have been granted, the costs are divided equally, unless the judge considers that such a division is unfair.

The costs that are charged to you by the judge may be borne by the State up to a certain amount.

You can use mediation before or after litigation

The mediation procedure shall interrupt the time limits for bringing proceedings.

The starting point for the interruption of the time-limits for bringing an action is as follows:

  • from the day on which the parties agree in writing to use mediation,
  • or, in the absence of written agreement, from the day of 1era mediation meeting.

The time limits for appeal in disputes shall start to run again from the date on which either or both parties or the mediator declare that the mediation has been completed.

Public service

If you are a public servant, you may be required to first participate in administrative mediation before you can appeal to litigation against certain decisions.

Who are the agents involved?

You are affected by the mandatory pre-mediation procedure if you are in one of the following situations:

  • You are an official or contract worker of the National Education Department assigned to the Rectorate or Departmental Services (Desden), a nursery or elementary school, a college or a high school of one of the following academies:
    • Aix-Marseille
    • Bordeaux
    • Clermont-Ferrand
    • Lyon
    • Montpellier
    • Nantes
    • Nice
    • Normandy
    • Paris
    • Rennes
    • Versailles
  • You are an employee of a community or a public institution who has entered into an agreement with the management center to mediate

FYI  

the management centers shall provide the administrative tribunals with a list of the communities which have concluded an agreement.

Which decisions are affected by compulsory prior mediation?

  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision relating to one of the elements of remuneration
  • Refusal of secondment or lay-off of an official
  • Denial of unpaid leave to contract worker to raise a child under 8 years of age, to care for a dependent child, his/her spouse, his/her partner Civil partnerships: titleContent, to a ascendant following an accident or serious illness or a disability requiring the presence of a third person
  • Denial of unpaid leave to a contractor to follow a Civil partnership or partner who is obliged to move for professional reasons
  • Refusal to grant unpaid leave for personal reasons to a contractor
  • Refusal to grant a contractor unpaid leave to set up or take over a company
  • Refusal to grant unpaid mobility leave to a contractor
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision concerning the reinstatement of an official at the end of a secondment, availability or parental leave
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision concerning the reinstatement of a contractual employee at the end of unpaid leave
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision concerning the classification of an official following a promotion to grade or internal promotion
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision on training
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision on access to or retention in employment of a staff member with a disability
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision concerning the preservation of equipment contributing to the adaptation of the workstation of a disabled staff member
  • Unfavorable individual administrative decision concerning the adjustment of working conditions with a view to the reclassification of an official recognized as unfit for the performance of his duties

In National Education, the compulsory prior mediation procedure is applicable to decisions taken from 1er April 2022.

In the territorial civil service, it shall apply from 1er day of the month following the conclusion of the agreement between your employer community or institution and the management center.

When an individual decision is subject, in case of dispute, to compulsory prior mediation, the administration must inform you at the notification of the decision.

Your employer's administration will inform you of the contact details of the competent mediator.

If your employer administration fails to comply with this obligation, the time limit for legal action does not apply and you can challenge the decision at any time.

Mediation is an approach that aims to enable you and your employer administration to reach an amicable agreement, with the help of a third-party mediator.

It's about settling a dispute and avoiding a procedure before the administrative tribunal.

For some categories of decisions, prior mediation is mandatory before proceeding to the Administrative Court.

Only if mediation fails can you go to the judge.

If you go to the administrative court without having completed the compulsory prior mediation procedure, the judge rejects your request and forwards it to the competent mediator.

If you are a National Education Officer, compulsory prior mediation is provided by the Academic Mediator.

Who shall I contact

If you are a territorial officer, mandatory pre-mediation is done by the management center. The chairman of the management center shall designate the natural person or persons who carry out the compulsory prior mediation.

You must contact the competent mediator by post within 2 months of the date of notification of the decision you are contesting.

Your letter must be accompanied by a copy of the contested decision.

Referral to the Ombudsman shall interrupt the time limit for bringing proceedings before the Administrative Court.

That period shall begin to run again from the date on which either you, your administration, or the two of you, or the mediator, state unequivocally and by any means that the mediation has ended.

The potential cost of mediation is fully covered by your employer's administration.

You, and your employer's administration, may be assisted before the Ombudsman by any person of your choice.

The mandatory mediation procedure ends with a negotiated agreement or disagreement.

If agreement is reached, the administration may withdraw the contested decision or take a new, more favorable decision.

If the discussions do not result in an agreement, you can challenge the decision before the administrative judge.

Social or return-to-work support

If you are a jobseeker or if you receive certain social benefits, you may have to go through mediation before appealing against certain decisions.

Jobseekers

Administrative mediation is mandatory for you if you have received one of the following decisions from Pôle emploi:

  • Decision taken to promote return to employment (e.g. mandatory training)
  • Decision to terminate the listing of jobseekers
  • Decision to change the category of jobseekers
  • Decision to de-list jobseekers
  • Decision to abolish replacement income
  • Administrative penalty decision
  • Decision to request reimbursement of allowances, aid or benefits unduly paid

Beneficiaries of social assistance

Administrative mediation is mandatory if you have received one of the following decisions taken by Pôle emploi on behalf of the government:

  • Decision on allowances for young people on a pathway to employment and self-reliance
  • Decision on the specific solidarity allocation
  • Decision on solidarity allowances for entertainment intermittents
  • Decision on aid for the creation or takeover of a company

Mediation is a process whereby the parties try to resolve their dispute amicably with the help of a mediator. It may relate to all or part of a dispute.

When mediation is mandatory, you must apply for it before appealing to the administrative judge. Otherwise, the judge will dismiss the appeal without considering it.

Procedure

After the notification of the decision, you must contact the competent mediator to ask him to open a mediation.

The request must be made within the time allowed to challenge the decision in court.

The notice of notification must contain an obligation to request mediation within the time limit for bringing proceedings.

The document must also indicate the name of the competent Ombudsman and his contact details.

You must attach a copy of the contested decision to the request for mediation.

If it is a implied decision, you must attach a copy of the request to the administration and its acknowledgement of receipt.

Ombudsmen responsible for Pôle emploi decisions

The competent ombudsman for decisions taken by Pôle emploi is the Pôle emploi Regional Ombudsman.

The Defender of Rights is also competent to carry out compulsory mediation with Pôle emploi.

Who shall I contact

  • Defender of Rights

    By telephone (general information)

    09 69 39 00 00

    Cost of a local call

    From Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm

    By post (to lodge a complaint with the Defender of Rights) By free post, without postage

    Defender of Rights

    Free answer 71120

    75342 Paris cedex 07

    Attention: attach photocopies of the documents relating to your referral to your post.

    By E-mail

    Access to contact form

Referring the matter to the competent Ombudsman interrupts the time limit for bringing proceedings. This means that the mandatory mediation procedure does not deprive you of the opportunity to to refer the matter to the administrative judge in case of failure.

If you make a contentious appeal without requesting mandatory mediation, the judge will dismiss the appeal and refer the case to the appropriate mediator.

If you make a ex gratia or hierarchical appeal after mediation, this will not result in a further interruption of the appeal period.

You do not have to pay when mediation is a mandatory prerequisite for litigation.

The mediator first listens to each side's arguments.

Then he organizes a dialog between you and the administration, to try to find an amicable solution.

Mediation is subject to the principle of confidentiality except in the following 3 cases:

  • Contrary agreement of the parties
  • Public policy grounds relating to the protection of the best interests of the child or the integrity of a person
  • Need to know the content of the mediated agreement to implement it

The mandatory mediation procedure ends with a negotiated agreement or disagreement.

If an agreement is reached, the administration can withdraw the contested decision or make a new decision that is more favorable to you.

If the discussions do not result in an agreement, you can challenge the decision before the administrative judge.

FAQ