Methodology

The project offered a two-fold dimension to training – participants received both language training at intermediate level and practice-oriented mediation training. Most training events were attended by judges, lawyers and mediators from various Member States, offering cross-professional training and ensuring exchange of experiences, advice and mediation best practice.

Each event dealt with one of the following topics:

• Civil and commercial mediation
• Family mediation

Each seminar had a duration of 2.5 days and was organised in the partnering Member States. The number of participants was limited to 30 per event.

All events covered cross-cutting issues deemed necessary for continuous mediation training. The programme was based on knowledge development and practical skills training.

Under knowledge development, attendees learnt about the mediation legal framework and the different procedural frameworks in the Member States.

Certain issues addressing the peculiarities of specialised mediation were different for the two topics of the project:

• The events on civil and commercial mediation covered e.g. power imbalances, mediation concepts for business mediation
• The events on family mediation discussed the model of co-mediation, the best interest of the child, etc.

Practical skills training was provided based on comprehensive case studies developed for each topic by renowned EU law experts and used in workshops, giving the chance to participants to try different roles in the mediation process.

The language training was based on two linguistic manuals, focusing on English legalese in (cross-border) mediation and comprising written and oral comprehension, pronunciation, etc.

Trainers for the seminars included two linguistic experts and three legal experts/mediators with long-standing experience in international cooperation. The participants were divided into two smaller groups to ensure closer interaction between the participants and one-to-one contact with the trainers.

At the end of the project, 135 judges and 90 lawyers/mediators benefited from specialised English language training in the field of mediation. Through attending a 2.5-day seminar conducted entirely in English, participating in workshops, role plays, discussions and interactive language exercises, improvements in the participant’s language skills were achieved. These newly acquired skills will increase confidence when conducting future cross-border mediation procedures. Attendees benefitted from in-depth knowledge of EU aspects of mediation, mediation skills and techniques that they acquired during the workshops where they actively worked together solving cases. Familiarised with the latest legal developments and different national procedural frameworks in mediation, they will be able to apply correctly the provisions of national law implementing the EU Mediation Directive in the future and thus increase their confidence in dealing with mediation or referring cases to mediation.

The provision of cross-professional training and the innovative combination of legal and linguistic training incorporating several workshops and role plays resulted in improved mutual trust and understanding of the various roles and constraints faced by the professionals involved in mediation procedures.