1. A party to the conciliation proceedings, the conciliator and any third person, including those involved in the administration of the conciliation proceedings, shall not in arbitral, judicial or similar proceedings rely on, introduce as evidence or give testimony or evidence regarding any of the following:
(a)
An invitation by a party to engage in conciliation proceedings or the fact that a party was willing to participate in conciliation proceedings;
(b)
Views expressed or suggestions made by a party in the conciliation in respect of a possible settlement of the dispute;
(c)
Statements or admissions made by a party in the course of the conciliation proceedings;
(d)
Proposals made by the conciliator;
(e)
The fact that a party had indicated its willingness to accept a proposal for settlement made by the conciliator;
(f)
A document prepared solely for purposes of the conciliation proceedings.
2. Paragraph 1 of this article applies irrespective of the form of the information or evidence referred to therein.
3. The disclosure of the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall not be ordered by an arbitral tribunal, court or other competent governmental authority and, if such information is offered as evidence in contravention of paragraph 1 of this article, that evidence shall be treated as inadmissible. Nevertheless, such information may be disclosed or admitted in evidence to the extent required under the law or for the purposes of implementation or enforcement of a settlement agreement.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this article apply whether or not the arbitral, judicial or similar proceedings relate to the dispute that is or was the subject matter of the conciliation proceedings.
5. Subject to the limitations of paragraph 1 of this article, evidence that is otherwise admissible in arbitral or judicial or similar proceedings does not become inadmissible as a consequence of having been used in a conciliation.