Global Trends in Dispute Resolution Series Volume 7

EU Mediation Law Handbook offers a highly effective way to analyse the quality and robustness of each of the EU’s twenty-nine national jurisdictions’ legal frameworks relevant to mediation (including legislation, case law, practice directions, codes of conduct, standards, and other regulatory instruments) and factor such an analysis into choices about governing law in mediation clauses and other agreements. Mediation is rapidly becoming a norm in cross-border dispute resolution among EU Member States. Accordingly, an important question for legal advisers to ask themselves is: Which jurisdiction offers the best legal framework to support a potential future mediation of my client’s dispute? This book responds to this question by examining the law of mediation in each Member State on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Each country analysis is based on the book’s overarching principle of a specially designed Regulatory Robustness Rating System, which is thoroughly explained in the introductory chapter.

What’s in this book:

Among the issues and topics covered are the following:

• congruence of domestic and international legal frameworks;
• transparency and clarity of content of mediation laws;
• standards and qualifications for mediators;
• rights and obligations of participants in mediation;
• access to mediation services;
• access to internationally recognised and skilled mediators;
• enforceability of clauses and mediated settlement agreements;
• confidentiality and flexibility;
• admissibility of evidence from a mediation session in subsequent proceedings;
• impact of commencement of mediation on litigation limitation periods;
• relationship and attitude of courts to mediation; and
• regulatory incentives for legal advisers to engage in mediation.

This detailed examination clearly allows users and other regulatory stakeholders to look closely and critically at mediation regulatory regimes in order to make informed choices and develop appropriate strategies in relation to the law that governs their mediation.

How this will help you:

This is the first book to consider authoritatively what makes good mediation law and what makes a jurisdiction attractive for cross-border mediation purposes in terms of its regulatory framework. As a resource that identifies potential strengths and weaknesses of each EU Member State’s regulatory regime, this book has no peers, and furthermore, it assists the alternative dispute resolution community in Europe and beyond, in selecting the most appropriate regulatory jurisdiction for a cross-border mediation.

Editors

Contributors

Foreword

Preface

CHAPTER 1 Introducing Regulatory Robustness Ratings for Mediation Regimes in the EU           

Nadja Alexander            

CHAPTER 2 Austria         

Christina Lenz & Martin Risak   

CHAPTER 3 Belgium       

Johan Billiet & Dilyara Nigmatullina      

CHAPTER 4 Bulgaria       

Evgeni Georgiev             

CHAPTER 5 Croatia         

Boris Jukic & Anamarija Milanovic´

CHAPTER 6 Cyprus         

Victoria – Zoi Papagiannis & George Mountis  

CHAPTER 7 The Czech Republic

Martin Svatos  

CHAPTER 8 Denmark    

Louise Lerche-Gredal    

CHAPTER 9 England and Wales 

Bill Marsh, Alexander Oddy & Jan O’Neill           

CHAPTER 10 Estonia      

Maria Pihlak     

CHAPTER 11 Finland      

Petra Hietanen-Kunwald            

CHAPTER 12 France       

Delphine Wietek             

CHAPTER 13 Germany  

Kristina Osswald & Gustav Flecke-Giammarco            

CHAPTER 14 Greece      

Apostolos Anthimos     

CHAPTER 15 Hungary    

Manuela Renáta Grosu              

CHAPTER 16 Ireland      

Sabine Walsh   

CHAPTER 17 Italy            

Carlo Mastellone & Laura Ristori            

CHAPTER 18 Latvia         

Dana Rone        

CHAPTER 19 Lithuania  

Virgilijus Valancius     

CHAPTER 20 Luxembourg           

Jan Kayser         

CHAPTER 21 Malta         

Adrian Delia & Michael Muscat

CHAPTER 22 The Netherlands  

Machteld Pel    

CHAPTER 23 Northern Ireland  

Brian Speers     

CHAPTER 24 Poland       

Rafal Morek     

CHAPTER 25 Portugal    

Miguel Cancella d’Abreu & Sabine Walsh           

CHAPTER 26 Romania   

Constantin Adi Gavrila & Sanda Elena Lungu               

CHAPTER 27 Scotland   

Charlie Irvine    

CHAPTER 28 Slovak Republic     

Alexandra Kapišovská, František Kutlik & Tatiana Hambalkova              

CHAPTER 29 Slovenia    

Aleš Zalar

CHAPTER 30 Spain          

Mercedes Tarrazón & Marian Gili Saldaña         

CHAPTER 31 Sweden    

Bengt Lindell