Mediate, do not hesitate

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT:  Mediate, do not hesitate

(funded by the the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje)

Project lead:                    European Policy Institute (EPI) – Skopje

Project partners:            Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors “Pavel Shatev”

Chamber of Mediators of the Republic of North Macedonia

Mediators Federation Netherlands

Overall objective:           To contribute to increasing the overall usage rate of the mediation as an alternative dispute

resolution.

Specific objectives:       

1. Providing evidence based input on mediation as a tool for alternative dispute resolution in North Macedonia;
2. Strengthening of the capacities of mediators, judges and the Chamber of Mediators;
3. Enabling a mechanism for dialogue and cooperation between the most relevant stakeholders in the area of mediation;

Target group:                   Experts on Mediation, Judges, Mediators, Public prosecutors, Government, Ministry of Justice,

Academy of judges and public prosecutors, Representatives of Business Sector, Chamber of

Commerce, companies, Representatives of State’s Administration, students, citizens.

Final beneficiaries:     Justice sector institutions (the Academy of judges and public prosecutors, courts and public prosecution offices, Ministry of justice and other judiciary related institutions), the Chamber of mediators, mediators, future judges and public prosecutors and the citizens and the society at large.

Estimated results:         R1: Evidence based assessment of the status of implementation of the Ministry of Justice’s

Strategy for Judicial Reform 2017 – 2022 in terms of the area of mediation reforms;

R2: Provided insight from business representatives’ opinions and recommendations on

improving the mediation by conducting focus groups with 10 representatives from business

sector;

R3:  Obtained detailed insight of the awareness of the representatives of the business and public

sector on the use of mediation;

R4: Institutionalized module within the training programme of the Academy of Judges and

Public Prosecutors;

R5: Strengthened knowledge and capacities of mediators, judges, public prosecutors, university

professors and future judges and public prosecutors, through transfer of knowledge on

mediation by conducted trainings;

R6: Strengthened knowledge and capacities of mediators, judges, public prosecutors,

universities, representatives from the state’s administration and other relevant

stakeholders through transfer of knowledge and know-how during study-visit in

Netherlands;

R7: Enhanced capacities in the area of finances and communications of the members of the

Chamber of mediators, contributing to advancing the work of this body and raising

awareness of the citizens of the advantages of using the mediation in their disputes;

R8: Context specific policy proposals regarding the Draft-law on Mediation and enhance the

concept of mediation through organizing of three promotional dialogue events with

relevant stakeholders including representatives from public sector and companies, Ministry

of Justice, Chamber of Mediators, Academy of Judges and Public Prosecutors, Experts,

Academia, Government, Assembly and the general public;

R9: Established and strengthened dialogue and cooperation mechanism between the relevant

stakeholders by organizing two annual conferences on mediation;

R10: Promoted benefits of mediation and advocated on the recommendations for improving

the mediation to the relevant stakeholders;

Main activities:               CLUSTER 1: Evidence based Research

• Policy analysis document
• Focus group
• Surveys on mediation

CLUSTER 2: Capacity building

• Developing a mediation training module within the Academy of judges and Public Prosecutors;
• Trainings on mediation in the Academy of Judges and Public Prosecutors;
• Training on Organizational development for the Chamber of mediators;
• Three days’ study-visit to the Netherlands;

CLUSTER 3: Promotion

• Three promotional policy events;
• Organizing two annual conferences on mediation;
• Advocacy meetings;
• Promotion of the mediation as a dispute resolution mechanism;

Implementation:            01.09.2020 – 31.08.2022

Budget:                              8089384 MKD

Contact:                            Iva Conevska, Project Manager and researcher ([email protected])