The chairman of the panel to which the case is distributed shall appoint a councillor or a referendary councillor of that panel as rapporteur.
He may immediately fix the date of the hearing.
He may, after obtaining the agreement of the parties, appoint a mediator to hear the parties and compare their points of view to enable them to find a solution to the dispute between them, in accordance with Article 131-1. The decision ordering mediation is taken after the pleadings have been lodged and, if necessary, after the Attorney General has given his opinion. The president of the panel to which the case has been assigned sets the duration of the mediation in accordance with article 131-3, in consideration of the date of the hearing he has set.