Conflicts are an integral part of human life. They accompany him from the moment of the appearance of self-awareness, and no one has managed to avoid them yet. However, every civilized person should strive to reduce their number and hone skills for successful dispute resolution. Unfortunately, this is far from being possible for all parties to the conflict, because it is sometimes so difficult to resolve a property dispute after a divorce, agree on something with a former business partner, or decide who is the most worthy heir of all. Most often with such situations we go to court, but we are extremely rarely satisfied with his decision. Therefore, in the West, a pre-trial system for overcoming conflicts has long existed and successfully operates, and the mediator profession plays the main role in this process. Since the institution of mediation and its legal justification is still being formed in our country, few can fully understand how important, interesting, and most importantly, this specialty is promising. In this regard, we will discuss the profession of a mediator of social conflicts and tell readers about its features.
About mediation
How often in life did you find yourself in a dead end situation, the only way out of which you saw in going to court? We think that at least once every person has encountered this. And many are constantly in conflict with other people, and all of them are extremely neglected and deep. Even an experienced judge cannot always make a decision that satisfies all parties at the same time. Therefore, we are accustomed to the fact that someone remains dissatisfied and the conflict, instead of resolving, goes to a different stage.
However, one should only turn to the services of a mediator, whose profession in recent years has been of increasing interest, as all parties to the conflict find the most acceptable solution and manage to maintain friendly relations. Thus, it becomes clear that mediation is a complex process of negotiations organized in a peaceful manner by a person who does not have an interest in resolving a dispute. And the mediator himself (this profession is new for Russians and very fascinating) is the person who organizes the negotiations and enables their participants to come to a decision that satisfies them on the basis of voluntary principles and to observe it in the future.
Brief description of the profession
From the side it seems that the profession of a mediator is extremely simple, because the mediator does not impose his opinion on anyone, does not express his attitude to the situation and does not adhere to someone else's position. However, from the inside, the mediator's activity sometimes seems to be a real miracle. He must find out all the circumstances of the conflict and make sure that the parties hear each other without charges and mutual claims. In the process, the mediator performs a leadership function, directing the conversation in the right direction so that the debaters come to a solution to the situation completely independently, finding out the root of the problem.
Interestingly, the use of mediator services is voluntary. At any time, the parties may refuse to continue negotiations or not fulfill the decision. After all, it does not carry any legal force, but nevertheless statistics confirm that such a refusal occurs in one to two percent of a hundred. And this is already considered a credible result.
History of mediation
Many historians believe that mediation appeared at about the same time as humanity.Indeed, even during tribal relations, it was easier for people to agree and find a compromise than to destroy each other. Our ancestors Slavs also resorted to the services of intermediaries in order to avoid internecine war or princely strife. And around the nineteenth century, special judicial bodies were formed that took on a conciliatory function. Their main task was to bring the conflict to a natural resolution, satisfying all its participants at the same time. It is believed that the definition of “mediation” was first applied in the reporting documents of these bodies. However, in its present form, this art of communication, as it is often called, appeared only in the middle of the last century.
Initially, the mediator operation algorithm in a conflict situation was used only in English-speaking countries. He quickly became popular in the USA, UK and Australia. Experts say that in these states an identical legal system is established, based on the same principles. It is noteworthy, but mediation has become extremely effective in resolving all kinds of family disputes. It was in this area that numerous experts in family law saw its future.
Gradually, all European countries began to resort to the practice of mediation; it became an assistant in resolving conflicts of any complexity in all spheres of human life. However, not everyone was ready for mediators to become a separate professional caste, which would deprive lawyers of their bread and significantly change their practice.
Formalization of official mediation
The official organization of the mediator's work from the very first attempts began to encounter numerous obstacles posed by the judicial system. More precisely, the judges were even happy to use mediation as an alternative way to resolve the conflict and often referred participants to similar specialists. However, lawyers did not like this state of affairs, because they are deeply interested in continuing the dispute and often set clients against mediation in general. The judges tried several options for introducing mediators into legal proceedings officially and ultimately ruled that a party that refuses to try to resolve everything in a peaceful way is already considered to have lost the case and incurs all legal costs. This contributed to the growing popularity of mediation, without which it is already difficult to imagine the global judicial system.
Today in the USA, for example, the entire system of law is aimed at reaching peace agreements between disputes and reducing litigation. In some countries, such as Germany, mediation is part of the justice system. And in Japan, this method is very popular, since an appeal to a state court receives an extremely negative assessment of the public.
In our country, the law on the mediation procedure was adopted about seven years ago, but so far this innovation has not become a good tradition. Many of our compatriots have a poor idea of the mediator's work order, and therefore avoid using such an effective method of resolving a contentious situation. We will try to describe this profession and its features in more detail.
The principles of the mediator
All activities of mediators (professionals and non-professional) are based on five principles. They can be listed as:
- Volunteering The conflicting parties themselves decide whether they should turn to mediation in the process of resolving the dispute. No one can oblige to use this method, in addition, parties to the conflict can always stop the mediation process and return to court proceedings.
- Confidentiality. It is not always convenient when the details of the biography and personal life come out for general discussion in the litigation process.However, unfortunately, this often cannot be avoided, because only in this way it is possible to get to the truth and make the right decision. Mediators do not have the right to divulge somewhere the details of the conflict and the nuances of the decision.
- Freedom of choice. The parties to the dispute have the opportunity to turn to any mediators of their choice. Also, a specialist who is not suitable for one reason or another can always be discarded.
- Lack of personal interest.
- The informality of the process. The meeting of the parties can be organized in any setting, the procedure for reaching a compromise is quite flexible, and the conversation takes place in a confidential manner.
The main objectives and goals
The mediator works according to a certain scheme, in the process of performing all tasks that lead to the desired result. The stages of the mediator's work in resolving the conflict from the side seem quite simple, but each requires the use of professional skills and the use of deep knowledge in psychology and jurisprudence:
- Organization of negotiations. At this stage, the mediator must obtain agreement from all parties to negotiate. The specialist also chooses the place, time and date of the meeting in order to start the mediation process.
- A statement of the positions of the conflicting parties. Often, the parties to the conflict are so carried away by the process itself that they cannot easily communicate their position and proposals to each other to resolve the dispute. The mediator, in turn, must provide the opportunity for each arguer to speak out on the substance of the matter.
- Decide with interest. The mediator leads the negotiation process and directs it in the right direction. Therefore, after the parties have stated their position, he leads them to identify the main interest that is the subject of the dispute.
- Identify true interest. Often, participants in a conflict hide their true goals and interests, hiding behind common phrases. The moderator is faced with the important task of determining how true is the interest identified at the last stage of negotiation.
- Reaching an agreement. After identifying all interests, the moderator leads the parties to the conflict to ensure that they themselves find a solution to their problems and conclude a peace agreement, which is signed in his presence.
We can say that at each of these stages the mediator plays the role of an unspoken leader who does everything possible to ensure that the negotiators are comfortable and their desire to find a compromise is not lost.
Situations in which mediator assistance will be useful
In Russia, it is still not too often the conflicting parties turn to mediation. Many do not even know in which situations this procedure may be effective. The main cases when mediation is considered justified and effective include the following:
- the need to maintain relationships with business partners;
- the inability to reach a compromise in connection with the emotional state of the parties (for example, when solving family problems);
- desire to avoid publicity;
- in ethnic conflicts and similar situations.
The effectiveness of mediation in disputes is also highly appreciated when court participation is undesirable for the parties for one reason or another.
Features of work
In Russia, the profession has some features that anyone who would like to master its skills needs to know about:
- several mediators may participate in the negotiations;
- the cost of services is set by agreement;
- there are six days for a decision in the mediation procedure;
- mediation does not apply to entrepreneurial activity;
- civil servants do not have the right to be mediators.
It must be borne in mind that after filing a lawsuit before the mediation procedure, only a professional specialist is allowed.
Professional or non-professional: choose
It is possible to become a mediator on an unprofessional basis. A teacher, lawyer or psychologist can complete special courses and engage in mediation. The main thing is that the future specialist should not have a criminal record, he should be considered competent and full of age. A mediator of this level can conduct any negotiations, except for those that have already passed into the category of litigation.
If you want to become a professional pick, then you must be over twenty five years old. In addition, higher education and a special profile are needed. Most often, professional mediators enter into various communities and have many contacts in the media.
Where do they teach the profession of a mediator?
In order to master the skills of a professional mediator, you must obtain the appropriate certificate. In Moscow, for example, this can be done at the Center for Mediation and Law. Accreditation of specialists is also held here.
You can also apply for education at the International Institute of Mediation, also located in the capital. This institution is taught by experts from Russia, the UK and other countries.
Plectors themselves believe that this specialty has a great future. After all, only they can teach people not only to successfully resolve disputes, but also to completely avoid them in the future.