SEC Drafts Rules For Mediation

Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) proposal to merge its dispute resolution subsidiary, FINRA Dispute Resolution, Inc. into and with its regulatory subsidiary, FINRA Regulation, Inc. FINRA continues to operate a dispute resolution program, now as a separate department within FINRA Regulation under the name of the Office of Dispute Resolution. Now, the SEC has proposed draft rules for mediation specified in the Corporation Code and other special laws it implements. The guidelines also apply to intra-corporate issues voluntarily brought to the commission by the parties concerned, provided the disputes have not yet been lodged in court. The SEC has the responsibility to determine the aspects of the dispute that can be mediated and those that cannot. Despite the passage of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), which transferred the jurisdiction over intra-corporate cases to the regular courts, the SEC has retained its power to handle residual cases. The mediation rules are available for comment until May 25, 2016, and do not cover administrative cases including petitions for cease-and-desist orders for violations of the Corporation Code, the SRC, and other laws and circulars issued and implemented by the commission, which are subject to administrative sanctions. See more at-- http://www.finra.org/industry/notices/16-04#sthash.n4dxbJBY.dpuf and http://bit.ly/1SQzpjT