About Mediator24.kz

Mediator24.kz is the national reference portal for mediators and mediator organisations in Kazakhstan. We bring together in one place information about professional and community mediators and the organisations they belong to, and we make it possible to arrange a mediation procedure online, from the application through to a final settlement agreement signed with an electronic digital signature.

Why the portal was created

Mediation has existed in Kazakhstan as a distinct institution since the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Mediation" in 2011. The procedural codes also provide for the possibility of settling a dispute with the help of a mediator. Yet for someone facing a conflict for the first time, it is still not easy to work out whom to approach: information about mediators is scattered across the registers of individual organisations, those registers come in different formats, and contact details are often out of date.

Our mission is to make finding a mediator simple, transparent and clear. Any individual or company should be able, within a few minutes, to find a specialist for their city, type of dispute and language, see that specialist's qualifications and organisational affiliation, and then contact them or send a mediation application straight away.

What the portal offers each participant

For individuals and companies

• A single registry of mediators with filters by city, organisation, type of mediation and language.
• A personal page for each mediator describing their specialisation, languages, cities of practice and public contact details.
• A community mediators section kept separate from the registry of professional mediators, so that you can see the difference in status.
• The option to submit a mediation application online and sign documents with an e-signature (EDS) without visiting an office.

For mediators

• A personal page in the national registry and a personal account for managing your profile.
• Confirmed affiliation with a mediator organisation, displayed on your profile.
• Tools for accepting applications and preparing the mediation agreement and the final settlement agreement.

For mediator organisations

• A page in the directory of organisations listing confirmed members.
• A representative's account in which the organisation confirms or declines mediators' membership requests.

For courts and government bodies

Procedural legislation invites the parties to settle their dispute through conciliation procedures, including mediation. The portal can serve as a clear point of reference: a judge, a civil servant or a lawyer can recommend that the parties use the registry, where information about mediators is collected in a single format. The portal is not, however, a state register and does not replace official sources.

Our principles

• Neutrality. The portal is not a party to any dispute, does not recommend any particular mediator and does not guarantee that an agreement will be reached.
• Equal data for all mediators. Every profile follows the same structure, and all mediators are on an equal footing in search and filtering. Where paid placement appears in the results, it is always marked with the word "Advertisement" and does not affect the verification badge.
• Confidentiality. The content of mediation procedures is not published. Mediator organisations have no access to their members' mediations or to their clients' documents.
• Personal data protection. IINs are stored in encrypted form and are never published. A mediator's photograph is shown only with their consent, and their phone number only once they have ticked the box consenting to its display.
• No external links. The portal does not publish links to third-party resources, so that users are not led away to unverified pages.

How the registry is compiled and verified

The initial registry database was compiled from the registers of mediator organisations. From there, every mediator can sign up themselves, select their organisation and complete their profile. By default, registration suggests the Association of Mediators of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but you can choose any organisation from the directory or indicate that you are not a member of any.

Data verification works on several levels:

1. A mediator's profile is published only after moderation.
2. Membership of an organisation is confirmed by its representative: a mediator cannot claim an affiliation on their own.
3. The "Verified" badge appears after the mediator's documents have been checked, together with an explanation of exactly what has been verified.

The project aims to cover every mediator in Kazakhstan, but we are candid that the database is still being filled. The site shows the actual number of published profiles, not an aspirational one.

How online mediation works

If the mediator you have chosen is connected to online processing, the process is as follows: you submit an application, the mediator accepts it, and the other party receives an invitation and decides for themselves whether to take part. The parties then accept the terms of the mediation agreement and sign it with an e-signature, on a computer via NCALayer or on a phone via eGov mobile using a QR code. If the dispute is settled, the final settlement agreement is signed in the same way. Signed documents are stored on the portal's server, and each party can retrieve them from their own account.

Languages

The portal interface is available in Kazakh, Russian and English. In addition, the registry lets you choose a mediator by the language in which they conduct procedures, which matters when the parties wish to negotiate in their native language.

Development plans

We continue to develop the portal step by step and do not promise anything that is not yet ready. Our immediate plans include further expanding the registry, connecting more mediators to online processing and extending our reference materials on mediation. We will begin publishing procedure statistics only once enough data has accumulated for the figures to be reliable without revealing information about the parties to disputes. We will announce any significant changes on the portal's pages.