Conciliation is a process by which a Designated Agent/conciliator helps the parties to a dispute to reach a settlement. This can be done by any consensus-building process including mediation, by fact finding or by making recommendations, including advisory arbitration. It is to be distinguished from arbitration, on the one hand and mediation on the other. It is unlike arbitration in that it involves no award by the third party, and is in no sense a judicial or quasi-judicial process; it is unlike mediation in that it is not a passive intercession, but rather an active attempt to resolve a conflict.
Arbitration is a procedure whereby a third party, (who can be a sole arbitrator, a panel of arbitrators or arbitration court), not acting as a court of law, is empowered to take a decision which disposes of the dispute. It is regulated in terms of the Arbitration Act Arbitration Act, [Chapter 7:15].