Mediation Act (Cap. 474), article 2

2. In this Act, unless the co ntext otherwise requires - "the Board" means the Board of Governors of the Centre established by article 6; "the Centre" means the Malta M ediation Centre established by article 3; "chairman" means the ch airman of the Board; "domestic mediation" means any mediation of a civil, family, social, commercial a nd industrial nature; "financial period" means a period of five years commencing on the first January of one year and ending on the thirty-first da y of December of the fifth year thereafter: Provided that the first financial period of the Centre shall be the period commencing with th e coming into force of Part III of this Act and ending on the thirty -first day of December of the year next following that on which the said Part III shall have come into force; "international mediation" shall include cross-border disputes o f a civil and commercial nature except as regards rights and obligations which are not at the parties’ disposal under the re levant applicable law, and other disput es which national legislation m ay provide from time to time. It shall not extend, in particular, to revenue, customs or administrative matters or to the liability of the State for acts and omissions in the exercise of State authority (acta iure imperii ); "mediation" means a process in which a mediator facilitates negotiations between parties to assist them in reaching a volun tary agreement regarding their dispute; "mediation party" means a person that participates in a mediati on and whose agreement is nece ssary to resolve the dispute; *See Legal Notice 362 of 2020 . 2 [CAP. 474. MEDIATION "mediator" means a neutral, qualified and impartial individual who conducts a mediation; "Member State" means any one of the Member States of the European Union with the exception of Denmark; "the Minister" means the Mini ster responsible for justice; "prescribed" means prescribed b y regulations made under this Act; "proceedings" means a judicial, ad ministrative, arbitral or oth er adjudicatory process; "registrar" means the registra r of the Board as defined under article 13. PART II Establishment and Functions of the Centre Establishment of the Centre.