MAY 28, 2019
INADR
hours to 80 hours. You should also pay attention to the area of law where you are willing to conduct mediation as some countries require both basic and specific training in, for example, family law, labor law mediations or mediations in criminal law matters.
Education and age. While even young people can have and do have excellent peacemaking skills, some conflicts require a certain level of social maturity. Therefore, national legislators very often introduce a requirement to have a university degree as a precondition of being included in the list of mediators. In most cases bachelor’s degree is enough, however, some countries require an individual to have a master’s degree. Other countries have gone even further and set a condition to have a law degree and a certain amount of years of professional experience. There are instances (however, less frequent) of national regulation requiring individuals to be of a certain age in order to be subject to admittance on the list. The age threshold varies from 25 years in Azerbaijan to 28 years in Austria.
Good repute. Mediators might have to deal with highly sensitive issues, thus the standards for mediator’s reputation shall also remain high. Even though the concept of good repute varies across the countries, it is usually related to having no criminal record or being dismissed from the post for a breach of administrative or disciplinary duty. Some countries exclude unintentional crimes and offenses, others prevent only those individuals from entering the register, who have committed a serious crime, or a crime related to corruption. As standards for good repute slightly differ, check how strict they are in your country.
Examination. Lastly and similarly to bar exams lawyers have to take, such a tendency is also emerging in the mediation world as national regulations require taking (and passing) a national exam to be eligible for the register. The examination usually consists of both theoretical and practical parts. While mediation competitions and the training that you have had most probably have already prepared you for the practical part of the examination, the theoretical part, which might include legal knowledge as well as psychological, shall be taken very seriously as well. Especially taking into account the disciplinary or, in some instances, even criminal liability that mediators might face for breaching their duties.
While the criteria outlined above can be considered as the main, some countries might subject individuals willing to become mediators to stricter requirements, such as citizenship. On the other hand, being a member of a bar or the judiciary can relieve the burden of the conditions at least partially. In Italy, for example, attorneys are mediators by right provided that they were adequately trained; in the Czech Republic the mediation examination for a member of the bar is organized by the bar association itself; in Lithuania similar approach is applied for the judges willing to mediate.
As mentioned above, this list does not give you exact criteria applicable in every country, and you will still have to read through the national regulations carefully. However, after reading this article, you at least have a rough overview of procedural steps that may lie ahead on your way to a prosperous professional career.
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