An Empirical Study on Mediation in Civil and Commercial Disputes in Europe: The Mediation Service Providers Perspective

Over the past two decades, many studies have provided important information on mediation as a convenient method for resolving disputes in the EU. However, these studies remain descriptive in nature and mainly focused on mediation from the perspective of disputants. The mediation service providers’ viewpoints and practice of Online mediation are understudied in the Union. Hence, this empirical study seeks to explore the application of mediation and Online mediation in civil and commercial disputes from the perspective of service providers in the selected Member States: France, Italy, and Belgium. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used in investigating the effectiveness and challenges of practicing mediation and Online mediation and its future perspective through the lens of service providers The overall structure of this paper takes the form of four sections. The first part as the literature review expands the discussion on the concept definition and the application of mediation and Online mediation. Next, section two provides a brief overview on the implementation of mediation in civil and commercial disputes in the EU, more specifically in France, Italy, and Belgium. Section three describes the empirical research methodology – through the open-ended surveys and the semi-structured expert interviews – and presents the results and data analysis. The final part provides a discussion on the findings of this empirical research. The present study aims to be suitable for policymakers, jurists, researchers, and mediation service providers.