Mediation is rapidly becoming a norm in cross-border dispute resolution among European Union (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 on mediation in each Member State on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Each country analysis applies the book’s overarching principle of a specially designed Regulatory Robustness Rating System, which is thoroughly explained in an introductory chapter. This framework 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. 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 mediation 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 analysis clearly allows users and other regulatory stakeholders to look closely and critically at regulatory regimes for mediation in order to make informed choices and develop appropriate strategies in relation to the law that governs their mediation. 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, it has no peers and will be welcomed and put to use by the alternative dispute resolution community in Europe and beyond.

A practical reference on the EU rules and international initiatives that impact directly on EU cross-border disputes, this handbook is a must-have for any practitioner of cross-border mediation. The EU Mediation Directive 2008/52/EC laid down obligations on EU Member States to encourage quality of mediators and providers across specific compliance considerations, including codes of conduct and training, court referral, enforceability of mediated settlements, confidentiality of mediation, the effect of mediation on limitation periods, and encouraging public information. The book is organized into clear and consistent themes, structured and numbered in a common format to provide easily accessible provisions and commentary across the essential considerations of the Directive. All EU countries which have complied, along with Denmark (which opted out of implementing the Directive), or attempted to comply, with the Directive are included, allowing straightforward comparison of key issues across the different countries in this important and evolving area. Supplementary points of practical use, such as statistics on the success rates of mediation and advice on the requirements for parties to participate in mediation, and for parties and lawyers to consider mediation, add further value to the jurisdiction-specific commentary. A comparative table of the mediation laws forms an invaluable quick-reference appendix for an overview and comparison of the information of each jurisdiction, together with English translations of each country's mediation law or legislative provisions. Address this dynamic area of law with the benefit of guidance across all elements of the Directive impacting practice, provided by respected and experienced editors from the knowledgeable European authority in mediation, ADR Center, along with a host of expert contributors.

The importance of the free movement of persons and the proper functioning of the internal market, in particular concerning the availability of mediation services in cross-border disputes, was an important point on the agenda of the European Directive 2008/52/EC of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters. The European Mediation Training for Practitioners of Justice (EMTPJ) is an initiative of the Association for International Arbitration (AIA) and supported by the European Commission. It is an intensive mediation training that purports to create mediators specialized in cross border mediation. This handbook is specially developed for "European Mediators" dealing with cross-border mediations in civil and commercial matters.

The EU Mediation Atlas: Practice and Regulation provides a highly practical guide to the present status of mediation in the member states of the EU. Focusing on commercial disputes, it specifically deals with court annexed mediation. It is organised on a country-by-country basis and investigates the legal framework in each jurisdiction and the available mediation schemes and providers, tackling issues such as confidentiality and enforceability, as well as explaining the general rules governing mediation and mediators. It also outlines the approach of the EU thus far in relation to harmonising mediation across the member states, adopting a practical approach to the subject matter.

The harmonisation of private international law in Europe has advanced rapidly since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Most aspects of private international law are now governed or at least affected by EU legislation, and there is a subst

This cutting-edge Research Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the European Union’s influence on the regulation of the media sector in the digital age. It explores and compares several areas of European legislation that have an impact on the media sector, defined in a broad sense for its capacity to influence the public opinion at large.

This book is an introduction to the current and prospective European mediation practice after the recent issuing of the New Mediation Directive. It is the outcome of an international congress that was being held in October 2008, in Brussels. The book introduces the reader to the rise of the European pro-mediation idea and the characteristics of the New Mediation Directive, with the Directive itself being assessed more critically. It examines how the training of mediators - one of the key rules of the New Mediation Directive - should be implemented into the European education practice of mediators. It discusses the task and possibilities of judges to invite parties to participate in mediation. It also provides some comparative discussions of how European mediation can be improved by looking at some American mediation issues, and it demonstrates how far Chinese mediation perspectives can be reconciled with the current European mediation philosophy.