Issue 4 – July 2013
TOPICS: Europion Union, Corruption, Mediation
Coordinator:
Christian Chereji and Iustin Mureșanu
Content – Sommaire:
ARTICLES in Issue 4 – July 2013:
European Union: Corruption and Its Impact on the Implementation of Mediation in the EU. A Comparative North-South Approach
Diana Cristina ISVORANU
Abstract:
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are generally regarded as the
Scandinavian states or the Northern European states. The Nordic countries share a common history and tradition. The Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages are very similar, the inhabitants of the country being able to understand each other very easily. The Nordic people were warriors until the conversion to Christianity, when the Viking culture started dying off quickly. After the loss of this warrior culture, the Northern people focused on agriculture-based activities. Today, these states are a model for the rest of the world in almost all aspects of social culture. It is well known that the justice system and the mediation procedures in the Northern states are more efficient than in the Southern European states. The court rooms in the south are overwhelmed with cases, leaving
the population dissatisfied with the current justice system. In this article I will focus on how corruption disrupts the justice system. I will analyze the effects of corruption, the causes and how the low level of corruption in the Scandinavian countries leads to their highly efficient judicial system.
Key words:
Europe, justice system, mediation, corruption, social cohesion, Euromedia, Nordic states,
Scandinavian states, legal system, Transparency International, bureaucracy, bribery, nepotism, abuse of power, ethics, morality, public officials, judges, lawyers, mediators, common law, civil law, Scandinavian law.
European Union: Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft Tipology and the Implementation of Mediation in Northern and Southern Europe
Alexandra MIHALI
Abstract:
This article will try to explain why the mediation process works better in the Nordic countries than in the Southern part of Europe. The more specific question is why people in the Southern part of Europe, where the justice system does not work properly, do not turn to mediation as an alternative to the former. The issue will be analyzed from the perspective of the countries’ values, of their culture, of the Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft typology and the tradition that the countries have in using mediation.
Key words:
Mediation, value, constraint, community, society, Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, tradition,
culture, individualism, collectivism, power distance.
European Union: A Structural Comparative Analysis of Mediation in Northern and Southern Europe
Mircea PLĂCINTAR
Abstract:
The role of mediation as an alternative conflict resolution technique remains a disputed
subject within Europe and the European Union. Indeed, both national laws and European regulations and directives have been introduced with the aim of enforcing or encouraging the application of what is perceived as a more effective means of managing conflicts, but the results continue to be inconsistent. Certain states, such as Norway, Denmark and Belgium have registered positive results related to the praxis of mediation while others, such as Italy, Spain and France, have been relatively unsuccessful. Generally, the considerable gap in mediation related performance between the “North” and the “South” of Europe is considered as rooted in deep cultural differences; while this is not by any means false, it is insufficient to fully explain the phenomenon. The aim of this article is to approach the subject matter from a purely technical angle, isolating the cultural factor without forgetting its relevance. What we have left is a structural analysis which emphasizes the importance of the legal and institutional policy concerned with court-annexed mediation. In this context, a fundamental difference is identified between the pragmatic and the legalistic approach.
Key words:
Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, pragmatic approach, bureaucratic/legalistic
approach, institutional structure, legal foundation, professional autonomy, state employee mentality.
Mediation. Building Trust
Ciprian SANDU
Abstract:
Mediation is a relatively new procedure in Romania, and because of that, as well as of
the mediator’s lack of experience, the clients encounter several problems regarding this procedure, most of them because they lack trust in the procedure and the mediator. The relationship of trust between mediators and parties is a key element of the mediation process. Psychologists have found that trust is vital to people’s willingness to contribute their time and attention to reach common goals and to reveal useful information in order to do that. How we can build this trust will be the subject of the following article.
Kew words:
Mediation, trust, Transylvanian Institute of Mediation, agreement, confidentiality,
Romanian Mediation Law.
