Georgian Gov't Initiates Creation of Mediation Institute

The Government of Georgia has initiated the creation of an alternative agency of dispute settlement – the Mediation Institute.

The draft law on Mediation was submitted to Parliament on March 18. The legislative amendments were prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

The government explains the current judicial system has a major problem in terms of the large number of civil disputes in courts, which is why some cases are prolonged or delayed, and the fast and efficient administration of justice hindered.

The initiative claims that the creation of the Mediation Institute will remove a lot of cases from the court system and will accelerate hearings of prolonged disputes due to this problem.

“A thoroughly prepared, impartial third party in the mediation process helps citizens and business representatives to resolve civil disputes without long-term and expensive judicial processes, in a mutually agreed manner,” the explanatory note of the draft law reads.

It also explains that the aim developing mediation is to promote alternative means of dispute resolution, increase accessibility and effectiveness of justice, and maximally freeing the court from such disputes that have the prospect of being completed through a mutual agreement.

“It should be underlined that the goal of the mediation is not the replacement of the traditional means of dispute settlement - court or arbitration,” the note reads.

Georgia’s Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani stated on March 12 that the government supports the reform project that her ministry has been working on for over a year and a half.

“This reform is called ‘Georgia’s Draft Law on Mediation and Consecutive Changes’ and will help to save state funds, which can be used to enlarge the corps of judges and make the whole justice system better,” she stated.

The Minister also noted that there is a lack of qualified mediators in the country, adding the project will also solve that problem by training staff.

The draft reads that the list of disputes subordinated to the Mediation Institute will be expanded and will cover not only business but bank, labor and loan disputes too.

By Thea Morrison

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