Problematic aspects of mandatory mediation in Lithuania

LTLietuvoje nuo 2020 m. sausio 1 d. įsigaliojo privalomas tarpininkavimas šeimos ginčuose, kurie nagrinėjami Civilinio proceso kodekso nustatyta tvarka. Ginčo šalys arba viena iš ginčo šalių privalo inicijuoti privalomojo tarpininkavimo procesą prieš kreipiantis dėl šeimos ginčo sprendimo. Privalomasis taikinamasis tarpininkavimas – tai ginčo sprendimo ne teisme procedūra. Šalys, nepasinaudojusios privalomuoju taikinamuoju tarpininkavimu, netenka teisės šeimos ginčą spręsti teisme. Taikinamasis tarpininkavimas gali būti taikomas tik civiliniuose šeimos ginčuose, kuriuose ginčo šalys gali sudaryti taikos sutartį. Kyla klausimas, kokiuose ginčuose taikomas privalomas tarpininkavimas? Tarpininkavimas gali būti taikomas šeimos ginčuose, pavyzdžiui, dėl santuokos nutraukimo, turto padalijimo, nepilnamečių vaikų išlaikymo, bendravimo su jais ir vaikų gyvenamosios vietos nustatymo, tėvystės nustatymo. Lietuvoje šis privalomosios mediacijos institutas šeimos ginčuose taikomas jau beveik trejus metus, todėl galima teigti, kad privalomosios mediacijos temą galima išnagrinėti, sukaupti nemažai praktikos ir informacijos. Šiame rašto darbe nagrinėjami ir analizuojami probleminiai mediacijos taikymo aspektai. Reikšminiai žodžiai: tarpininkavimas, privalomasis tarpininkavimas, tarpininkavimo probleminiai aspektai, šeimos ginčas. [Iš leidinio]

ENRelevance of the topic. In Lithuania from 1 January 2020, there is compulsory mediation in family disputes, which are dealt with in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. The parties to the dispute or one party to the dispute must initiate the process of compulsory mediation before applying for a family dispute resolution. Mandatory mediation – this is the procedure of dispute resolution outside the court. The parties who have not used compulsory mediation lose the right to settle a family dispute in court. Mediation can only be applied in civil family disputes that allow the parties to the dispute to enter into a settlement. The question is, in what disputes are the mandatory mediation applies? Mediation can be applied in family disputes, such as divorce, division of property, maintenance of minors, communication with them, and determination of children‘s place of residence, determination of paternity. In Lithuania, this mandatory mediation institute has been applied in family disputes for almost three years, so it can be stated that a lot of practice and information can be explored the topic of compulsory mediation. This writing work will address and analyze the problematic aspects of the application of mediation. The main problems. Firstly, after the entry into force of the amendments to the mediation of the Republic of Lithuania, this law was criticized because mediation was applied in all family disputes without exception. Therefore, in 2021 as of 22 April 2004, the legislature adopted a decision on the amendment of Articles 20 and 21 of the Law on Mediation of the Republic of Lithuania. The second problem of application of mandatory mediation is the time for which the state pays for up to 4 hours, so the question arises if it is possible to resolve the family dispute in such a short period of time when such disputes are resolved in months. The third problem of applying mediation is the qualification improvement of the mediators.The tasks. 1. To define the concept of mediation and mandatory mediation. 2. To reveal the practice of compulsory mediation in Lithuania. 3. Analyze the problematic aspects of thr mandatory mediation procedure in family disputes. The aim of the work is to investigate problematic aspects of the application of mandatory mediation in family disputes. Since mandatory mediation in family disputes has been applied only since 2020, it is very important to analyze and investigate all the problems, which the mediation institute has a lot of. As the result – after analyzing the term of mandatory mediation and its principles, despite the fact that mandatory mediation has certain application problems, it was concluded that the mediation institute in Lithuania is improving every year. Mediation is an excellent method of dispute resolution during which the disputing parties can reach a solution that satisfies them. The used methodology involves analysis of scientific literature, analyzes legislation and case law related to the application of mandatory mediation. The generalization method is applied. Keywords: mediation, mandatory mediation, mediation problem aspects, family dispute. [From the publication]