Support to Courts in the Development of a Mediation Program “REACH AN AGREEMENT, RESOLVE THE DISPUTE”
The Judges’ Forum of Serbia has initiated the implementation of the project “Reach an Agreement, Resolve the Dispute.” The aim of the project is to provide assistance and support to courts in implementing court-annexed mediation programs in accordance with the law and the Guidelines for the Improvement of Mediation.
The project is being implemented throughout the territory of the Republic of Serbia and is not time-limited.
The legal framework in the Republic of Serbia requires courts to provide parties and citizens with full information on the possibility of resolving disputes through mediation. In addition to the law, the Guidelines on the Improvement of Mediation prescribe an obligation for basic, higher, and commercial courts to establish information services to support mediation.
In order to provide support and assistance to courts in fulfilling this obligation, we have brought together judges with experience in court-annexed mediation. The members of our team were initiators and participants in the establishment of mediation services in the Second Municipal Court in Belgrade, the Second Basic Court in Belgrade, and the Basic Court in Niš. Our aim is to share our experience and assist colleagues.
Our intention is to support courts in the process of establishing information services. We aim to share our diverse experiences so that each court can identify the most suitable model for developing a mediation program. We will assist them in drafting the regulatory framework that each court is required to adopt, as well as in the process of establishing and organizing the work of the information services.
Within the project, we will organize workshops for staff working in the information services. The aim of these workshops is to prepare staff for their work, to provide them with basic knowledge of mediation, and to enable them to provide citizens and parties with accurate and comprehensive information about mediation.
We have also prepared workshops intended for judges, aimed at bringing the mediation process closer to them, identifying mediable cases, and familiarizing them with ways to inform and guide parties toward mediation.
Within the project, a monograph titled “Mediation in Courts” was prepared, authored by Nebojša Đuričić, Judge of the High Court in Belgrade, and Mina Vulić, a participant in the initial training program of the Judicial Academy. The reviewer was Vesna Filipović, Judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade.
The Basic Court in Požega recognized the need to improve the mediation program, and on January 28, 2022, a cooperation protocol was concluded with the Judges’ Forum of Serbia. We shared our experience with colleagues regarding the functioning of the Information Service and provided assistance in preparing promotional materials, as well as materials necessary for the work of the Information Service.
A workshop was held for staff who will be engaged in the service. A separate workshop was also organized for judges in order to bring the mediation process closer to them, help them identify mediable cases, and show them how to refer parties to mediation.
We continue to provide support to courts in the Republic of Serbia. A cooperation protocol has been signed between the Judges’ Forum of Serbia and the Basic Court in Sombor. The protocol was signed by the President of the Basic Court in Sombor, Aleksandra Madurić Kalčan, and the President of the Management Board of the Judges’ Forum of Serbia, Nebojša Đuričić.
We hope for successful cooperation in improving the mediation program both within the court and in the local community.
More about this event can be seen in the RTV Vojvodina report.
Following the signing of the cooperation protocol between the Basic Court in Sombor and the Judges’ Forum of Serbia, the Basic Court in Sombor continues to develop its mediation program by signing a cooperation protocol with the City of Sombor.
The Deputy Mayor, Ljiljana Tica, and the President of the Basic Court in Sombor, Aleksandra Madurić Kalčan, signed today at the City Administration premises a cooperation protocol on the joint promotion and implementation of dispute resolution through mediation.
A cooperation protocol aimed at promoting and developing mediation in the Republic of Serbia was also signed between the Mediation Center Sombor and the Judges’ Forum of Serbia.
We wish you many successfully resolved disputes through mediation!
More about this event can be found on the official website of the City of Sombor.
The Basic Court in Požega has officially marked the beginning of the work of the Information Service for supporting alternative dispute resolution methods.
In the hall of the Municipal Assembly of Požega, representatives of local self-government, attorneys, mediators, and judges were addressed by the President of the Basic Court in Požega, Dr. Olga Tešović, and the Court Secretary, Jelena Radović, who introduced them to the way the Information Service operates and the planned activities.
The Information Service was established with the support of the Judges’ Forum of Serbia within the project “Reach an Agreement, Resolve the Dispute.” The activities implemented within this project were presented to the participants by the President of the Management Board of the Judges’ Forum, Nebojša Đuričić, Judge of the High Court in Belgrade.
Experiences in organizing mediation programs were also shared with participants by colleagues Vesna Filipović, Judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade, Sanja Kostić, Judge of the Court of Appeal in Niš, and Nada Fridrih, Judge of the Basic Court in Sombor.
More about this event can be seen in the TV Požega report.
We continue our activities within the project “Reach an Agreement, Resolve the Dispute.”
In cooperation with the Mediation Center Sombor and the Basic Court in Sombor, a training session and professional development program for mediators was organized on December 16, 2022, with the aim of improving the knowledge and skills of mediators in Sombor. The training was attended by judges and judicial assistants of the Basic Court in Sombor, as well as members of the Mediation Center Sombor.
It was our pleasure that students of the Secondary School of Economics in Sombor also attended the training. It is of great importance for young people, future legal professionals, to become familiar with mediation as a method of peaceful dispute resolution.
More about this event can be seen in the TV Sombor report.
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