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BEING AT A LOSS HOW TO RESOLVE AN ISSUE? MEDIATION CAN DO IT FOR YOU.

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Mediation - an effective dispute solution

As yet, the term „mediation“ has not won too much public awareness in these lands, let alone the fact that the little people know about it is strictly confined to the realm of its function: the institute of The Probation and Mediation service has been embodied in the system of law of The Czech Republic, yet all it strives for is to mediate solutions in disputes connected with criminal activity. It sort of organizes execution of alternative punishments, being a part of the criminal justice system.

Conversely, abroad, mediation is recognized as an important method how to resolve disputes largely in the civil proceedings. It has become an integral part of the legal system both in the U.S. and most of the developed western-European countries. In the United States, mediation is being used in two thirds of:

• labor,
• trade,
• and family disputes.

Roughly the same ratio of disputes end in conclusion of the final agreement. After all, Demi Moore in The Disclosure movie (in our cinema distribution network being shown under the title of The Scandalous Disclosure) spent most of the screen time doing mediation with Michael Douglas as her ex-lover; it was not m e d i t a t i o n, as the dialog translator mistakenly put it. Mediation activity was first employed on a larger scale in the last third of the 20th century, now it has been a common tool to resolve all sorts of conflicts, starting with family disagreements and ending with billion-dollar trade disputes. It is a method of quick and cultivated out-of-court solution of conflicts as brokered by a third non-aligned party – the mediator. The mediator is left with a single task…, which is to conduct the negotiation between the quarreling parties in such a way as they reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The key is it is an informal process in which both the parties are involved voluntarily. The objective of a mediation process is a real-world agreement. The mediator is a trained professional in the sphere of effective negotiation, as he or she is the one to control the mediation process. They are supposed to be strictly non-aligned, being neither the advocate nor the advisor to the parties concerned, and, on principle, they are not in position to tell whether either party is to blame or not. Theirs is the role of a professional who conscientiously conducts the mediation process and supports the participants so that they can overcome their points at issue and find a solution.

Author: PhDr. Miroslav Hájek

Related articles:

• Mediation
• How a mediator works
• Agreement possible? Yes – in two cases out of three!
• Making impossible happen – mediation
• Which disputes are fit to be settled through mediation

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