On December 15, 2021, the Law of Ukraine “On Mediation”, which the legal community has been waiting for for many years, entered into force.
In Ukraine, mediation began to be used since the mid-2000s, but until now there were still open questions that determine the status of a mediator, the procedure for his preparation, the mediation procedure, and the rights of the parties.
Mediation (not to be confused with meditation!) is an out-of-court, voluntary and confidential procedure in which the parties, with the participation of a trained independent mediator (mediator), try to resolve the conflict through negotiations.
Mediation is used as an alternative way of resolving family, civil and business disputes and for conciliation in some criminal cases.
What are the advantages of mediation?
• Affordable cost of the procedure compared to resolving the dispute in court or through arbitration and arbitration.
• Quick resolution of the conflict.
• Voluntary participation.
• Initiating mediation at any stage of negotiations or litigation. The norms of the new Law on Mediation provide that in the event of successful mediation of a dispute that is already in court, 60% of the paid court fee will be returned to the relevant party in the court proceedings by the court.
• Confidentiality of negotiations.
• Professional search for a compromise solution.
A case of the successful application of mediation in the field of intellectual property can be shared by our manager, Nataliya Lemeshchuk, who obtained the specialty of mediator at the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation.
A dispute arose between the owner of a well-known trademark and the owner of an online store, which illegally used this trademark on its website, as well as in the domain name. The parties refused to go to court and decided to settle the dispute voluntarily. The process took place in the form of “shuttle” mediation (individual meetings and communication from each of the parties in turn), at the final stage the parties met and signed the agreement. In this case, the parties were accompanied at the post-mediation stage (monitoring of the implementation of the agreement). As a result, instead of the usual multi-year confrontation, with large financial costs, the parties peacefully resolved the dispute and agreed on a partnership for the future.
This is the main advantage of mediation – a quick and civilized way of resolving the conflict, finding a solution that suits both parties, saving financial means and personal resources, in the complete absence of image losses, the procedure is confidential and not subject to disclosure.