This chapter shall apply to all mediation agreements and mediation proceedings entered into on or after July 1, 2021.
§ 9-17-14.Applicability
Chapter 17. Georgia Uniform Mediation Act · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-17-14 limits this chapter to mediation agreements and mediation proceedings entered into on or after July 1, 2021, the date the Georgia Uniform Mediation Act took effect.
Full Text of § 9-17-14
Plain-English Summary
Every provision in Chapter 17 needs a starting line, and this section draws it. The chapter applies to mediation agreements and mediation proceedings entered into on or after July 1, 2021 — the effective date tied to the act’s 2021 enactment.
The date matters because it marks the line between mediations governed by this chapter’s privilege and disclosure rules and mediations that predate them. A mediation agreement signed, or a mediation proceeding begun, before July 1, 2021, does not fall under this chapter merely because a dispute connected to it continues past that date.
Taken together with the history note attached to every section in this chapter — each traces to the same 2021 act — this section confirms that Chapter 17 is not a codification of older, scattered mediation rules but a single, uniform framework that began operating on one specific date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this chapter apply to a mediation that began before July 1, 2021?
No. It applies only to mediation agreements and mediation proceedings entered into on or after that date.
Why does July 1, 2021 matter for this chapter?
It is the effective date tied to the 2021 enactment of the Georgia Uniform Mediation Act, and this section fixes it as the point from which the chapter governs.
What governed mediation confidentiality in Georgia before this chapter took effect?
This section does not say. It only marks the chapter’s own starting line; whatever protections applied to earlier mediations depended on the law and court rules in effect before this chapter took effect.
Does entering into a new mediation agreement after July 1, 2021 about an older dispute bring the mediation under this chapter?
Yes. The applicability trigger in this section is tied to when the mediation agreement or proceeding is entered into, not to when the underlying dispute arose.
Is July 1, 2021 the same date this chapter was enacted?
The chapter’s history note credits the enacting act, Ga. L. 2021, p. 646, to Senate Bill 234, and this section fixes July 1, 2021 as the date from which the chapter governs mediation agreements and proceedings.
Amendment History
Code 1981, § 9-17-14, enacted by Ga. L. 2021, p. 646, § 2/SB 234.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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