In many jurisdictions, mediation is a voluntary process. This is in line with the principle of freedom of will which is a fundamental principle in civil and commercial law. According to Article 3/1 of the Mediation Law, the parties are free to refer to, continue, terminate or withdraw from mediation proceedings. Therefore, the parties may not refer to or be forced to refer to mediation unless both of the parties wish so. The parties may mutually decide upon referring to mediation after a dispute has arisen between them, even while the court proceedings are pending; or they may enact a mediation agreement for a potential dispute that might arise, in the future, in connection with an existing legal relation between them. In practice, usually a prior mediation agreement exists as a part of a main contract between the parties, in order to enable those parties to resort to mediation in case of a dispute that might arise out of that contract. However, despite a prior written mediation agreement, the parties may always refer to courts. Therefore, the correct option is B.