ABOUT THE PROJECT
The topic of the project is to familiarize young legal professionals with ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) methods, primarily mediation and arbitration. Project activities consist of lectures on the simulation of arbitration and mediation procedures and the publication of manuals for arbitration and mediation, and the target group will be students of law faculties in Serbia.
The project will result in the education of students on legal and soft skills required for ADR methods, rhetoric, conflict management, emotional intelligence, negotiation, as well as participants' insight into the practical aspects of mediation and arbitration through lectures and participation in simulations in which they will demonstrate their knowledge in front of expert lawyers. .
The duration of the project
The program will be held in 4 phases:
1. Preparatory phase of the program from 1. untill 16. of May;
2. The phase of familiarizing young legal professionals with ADR methods from 16. of May untill 16. of August;
3. Stage of holding the competition and simulation of the ADR method from the 16. August untill 31. of October;
4. Phase of writing a manual on ADR methods and their practical application from 31. October untill 30. November;
CONTEXT
The rule of law is one of the basic values on which the EU is based and one of the key factors for peace and stability, social and economic development, legal certainty and economic growth. The key challenge facing the judiciary in Serbia is inefficiency, which results in slow resolution of cases, a large number of old cases and difficult access to justice.
In this context, the increased use of ADR methods, above all mediation and arbitration, can ease the burden we place on the courts, help the relations of the conflicting parties not to worsen, bring additional income to the lawyers who would act as representatives of the parties or mediators and arbitrators.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The goals of the project are to improve the understanding of mediation and arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the benefits of entering the mediation or arbitration procedure before starting court proceedings, bringing the practice closer to project participants and general promotion of ADR methods to young people.
Through its activities, the project will provide the participants with the knowledge and skills needed to start practicing and better understand ADR methods, give them the space to try out these knowledge and skills in practice, enable them to continue their education together with their mentors, and publish a publication that all interested young people will be able to to find on the website of the Belgrade Conference of Lawyers.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Education of young legal professionals about ADR methods
Holding simulations and competitions from ADR methods
Creating a comprehensive publication that will provide young people with the knowledge needed to understand ADR methods and give them an insight into the practice and skills used in mediation, arbitration and other ADR methods
Providing mentoring support for all participants who wish to continue learning about ADR methods and improve their skills
CONCLUSION
An efficient and effective judicial system is one of the basic requirements of every society. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has emerged as the future of the traditional dispute resolution system. The future of litigation and ADR after the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed from two angles, namely, we must adopt ways to make the decision-making process much more user-friendly and contactless (as far as is feasible) and we must adopt other ways to provide parties with faster access to justice.
ADR methods of dispute resolution can provide apartments in dispute with an informal contactless approach that can be ended effectively and not further worsen the apartment's relations, but also ease the burden carried by the traditional judicial system, i.e. the courts.
Currently in the world and in the region, and according to the Guidelines for the Improvement of the Application of Mediation issued by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia, ADR methods are a key part of the judicial system and often the parties to a dispute, before the actual commencement of the dispute in court, are instructed to first try to resolve the dispute by ADR methods.
According to a survey of Fortune 1000 companies by Thomas J. Stipanovich and J. Ryan Lamare in "The Quiet Revolution" we see an increase in the use and popularity of ADR methods. According to this research, in 1997, only 52% of disputes of Fortune 1000 companies were resolved by ADR methods, while in 2012, that number increased to 99%, of which 30 percent was through arbitration, 65% through mediation, and 5% through other ADR methods.et_pb_text:
In Serbia, we have exceptional experts who deal with ADR methods at the international level, and the recommendation of the author of the manual is that when you, the readers, have the opportunity to attend lectures and trainings, do so, knowing the skills required for ADR is important in life and can serve as an additional income or as a career occupation.
You can download the manual at the following link, and we invite you to watch all video and audio materials from this and all other projects of the Belgrade Conference of Lawyers dealing with ADR methods.
Manual for the peaceful resolution of disputes
MATERIAL ON ADR METHODS