Mediation is a form of assisted negotiation that enables the parties involved in a dispute to resolve it themselves. The mediator facilitates the sessions and helps the parties find a satisfactory solution.
It is an alternative and flexible method that provides a peaceful setting in which the parties can sit down, engage in dialogue and reach an agreement with the assistance of an impartial, suitable and qualified third party. The parties themselves play the leading role and, with the mediator’s help, can reach the best possible solution at the lowest cost. Mediation is often used in the day-to-day practice of a good lawyer, since it is always preferable to try to resolve disputes by mutual agreement in order to avoid unnecessary costs. This is particularly relevant today, when the administration of justice is slower and the economic crisis has given rise to greater legal uncertainty.
Mediation itself is becoming increasingly important because it is a straightforward, low-cost procedure of short duration, based on the parties’ willingness to participate and their freedom to decide. The mediator helps them find a solution through dialogue and voluntary agreement, rather than through the imposition of a decision by a third party, as occurs in the judicial system. Arbitration, meanwhile, can be very expensive and beyond the reach of many people.