German Mediation Act and the Mediation Committe: Final Compromise, Financial Incentives Added

In last night’s session of German Parliament’s Mediation Committee (Vermittlungsausschuss), a compromise was finally reached on the Mediation Act (Gesetz zur Förderung der Mediation und anderer Verfahren der außergerichtlichen Konfliktbeilegung). In some respects, it looks like the final legislation is back to where it all started. But at least, Germany is now ready to implement the EU Mediation Directive.

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Mediating the Mediation Act – Next Round

The Mediation Committee (Vermittlungsausschuss) of the upper and the lower house of the German parliament (Bundesrat and Bundestag) has put the Mediation Act on the agenda for its June 13, 2012 session. It remains to be seen whether a compromise can be reached on the role of the courts in mediation. An activist role for judges as mediators is an issue close to the heart of some federal states, and which has held up the timely implementation of the EU Mediation Directive until now.

 

German Mediation Act Takes First Hurdle

Yesterday, the Mediation Act was passed, by an unanimous vote, in the “lower chamber” of the German parliament, by the Bundestag, in the form previously reported here. The consent of the “upper chamber”, the Bundesrat, representing the Federal States, is still outstanding and not yet certain. The matter is on the Bundesrat’s agenda in February 2012. Continue reading

Much Ado About Nothing: Draft German Mediation Act to Become Law

On the same day I posted about the delay in the legislative process implementing the EU Directive on Certain Aspects of Mediation in Civil and Commercial Matters, the German parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) issued a press release that an agreement had been reached across all party lines, and that formal requests for amendment had been withdrawn.

At the time of writing, no information over and above the press release appears to have been published. From the press release, it seems that parliament has more or less settled upon passing into law the draft Mediation Act that was proposed by the government in April 2011. The press release still links to the April version of the draft. So at first sight, it appears that the heated debate about court-integrated mediation was much ado about nothing. Neither it, nor the expert hearing in May 2011 appear to have had a significant impact on the legislation as finally implemented.