Mediation: The Alternative Dispute Resolution Method
Mediation: The Alternative Dispute Resolution Method

 

On March 29, 2019, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Mediation" was adopted. This Law regulates public relations in the sphere of establishment of mediation as one of the alternative dispute resolution methods and defines the goals, principles, rules of implementation and status of mediators. The adoption of the Law "On Mediation" is an integral part of the ongoing judicial and legal reforms in the Azerbaijan.

 

            According to the law, mediation is a process defined by the law "On Mediation" which regulates settlement of disputes arising between the parties through mutual consent and will be applied to the civil and economic disputes (including disputes involving foreign element), as well as, labor and administrative law disputes. From 1 July 2020, it will be required to attend the initial mediation session before applying to the court in connection with the disputes arisen in the field of economic, family and labor relations.

 

            According to the defintion prescribed by the law, mediators are individuals with a higher education, who have reached the age of 25 and have at least three years of work experience assigned by the mediation organization for the realisation of professional mediation process. Mediators will act in the mediation organisations and mediation will be regulated and monitored by the Mediation Council. It should be noted that although the mediation is based on the mutual consent, the implementation of the agreement by the parties is compulsory for the parties. Another important issue mentioned in the law is judicial mediation. Thus, according to the Law, at any stage of the proceedings and by taking into account the circumstances of the case, the court may propose to resolve the disputes through mediation process at its own discretion and subject to the parties’ consent or by the request of one of the parties and subject to other party’s consent. In this case, the court proceedings are suspended until the settlement agreement and the protocol on the result of mediation process are submitted.

 

            One of the major results expected to be achieved through the application of mediation is the significant reduction in workload of the courts. Decreasing workload in the courts will also increase the quality of judicial proceedings. The other issue which should be noted is that the mediation procedures take shorter time than the judicial procedures.

 

 

Entrepreneurs and individuals interested in Mediation processes may contact our company through the following contact details:

Contact number: +994 12 480 14 86
E-mail: [email protected]