Brussels, 23/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a second reading (codecision procedure) on Wednesday 23 April in Strasbourg, the European Parliament gave its approval to the directive on certain aspects of civil and commercial legislation. This directive aims to facilitate access to amicable settlements of cross-border disputes by promoting the use of mediation and ensuring sound relations between mediation and judicial proceedings. By adopting the report of Arlene McCarthy (PES, United Kingdom), the EP has given its approval to the Council's common position on this dossier (EUROPE 9613 and 9541). Member states now have 36 months for transposing these new provisions into domestic law.
The Commission's proposal, presented in 2004, covers the use of mediation for cross border and domestic litigation. At the request of the Council and EP, however, the text of the common position plans to restrict directive application to cross-border affairs.
According to European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot, this directive “fulfils the political objective established in October 1999 by the European Council of Tampere” which called for, “the creation of alternative, extrajudicial procedures for dispute resolution in the member states”. Mediation can provide cost-effective and quick extrajudicial resolution of disputes in civil and commercial matters through processes tailored to the needs of the parties.
The key components of the directive are as follows: the directive obliges member states to encourage the training of mediators and the development of, and adherence to, voluntary codes of conduct and other effective quality control mechanisms concerning the provision of mediation services; it gives every judge in the Community, at any stage of the proceedings, the right to suggest that the parties attend an information meeting on mediation and, if the judge deems it appropriate, to invite the parties to have recourse to mediation; it enables parties to give an agreement concluded following mediation a status similar to that of a Court judgment by rendering it enforceable in the member states under existing Community rules; the directive ensures that mediation takes place in an atmosphere of confidentiality and that information given or submissions made by any party during mediation cannot be used against that party in subsequent judicial proceedings if the mediation fails. This provision is essential to give parties confidence in, and to encourage them to make use of, mediation. To this end, the directive provides that the mediator cannot be compelled to give evidence about what took place during mediation in subsequent judicial proceedings between the parties.
The provision of the directive on periods of limitation and prescription will ensure that parties that have recourse to mediation will not be prevented from going to court as a result of the time spent on mediation. The Directive thus preserves the parties' access to justice should mediation not succeed. (L.C.)