The Interdisciplinary Project for the Optimization of Separation Trajectories in Flanders, IPOS, collected a unique Belgian data set of divorcing people and their children. All aspects of the innovative, process orientated and multidisciplinary model of quality of life are longitudinal examined. The methodology and first results of this IPOS-study are presented. Special attention is paid to mediation.

On 21 May 2008 the European Directive on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters was adopted. The directive will have to be implemented in Dutch legislation before 21 May 2011. The objective of the Directive is to facilitate access to alternative dispute resolution and to promote the amicable settlement of disputes, by encouraging the use of mediation and by ensuring a balanced relationship between mediation and judicial proceedings (Article 1(1)). As a result of the arrival of the European Mediation Directive mediation the Netherlands will get a legal basis and thereby recognition. This article inter alia discusses the Mediation Directive from the NMI's perspective and discusses the articles from the Directive relevant to NMI step by step.

In the case of Rosalba Alassini v. Telecom Italia SpA the Court of Justice of the European Union has for the first time decided (18 March 2010) on the compatibility of a (Italian) statute mandatorily prescribing conciliation prior to application to a Court of Law, whereby the compatibility test was based on various European general principles of law. The author provides a critical comment on some inconsistencies in the judgment and the A-G’s earlier Opinion.

In this contribution an overview is given of the most recent developments with regard to commercial dispute management and its legal context, in particular in the Netherlands. Firstly, a focus is put on the importance of integral conflict management on the basis of ADR/EDR from the perspective of risk management and cost control. Secondly, recent developments with regard to effective dispute resolution, in particular in government policy, ADR/EDR and in the legal context are discussed. The judicial and the extrajudicial system offer conflict parties various possibilities to effective and efficient dispute resolution. Further, special attention is paid to mediation clauses in commercial contracts. With regard to the European Directive of 21 May 2008 on mediation in civil and commercial matters, Directive 2008/52/EC, its consequences to the Dutch legal system and its importance for commercial dispute resolution management are discussed.

This contribution examines the European Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters and deals with the question whether the Belgian law on mediation, namely Articles 1724 to 1737 of the Belgian Judicial Code, as introduced into the Belgian law in 2005, need to be amended in the light of the Directive. It concludes that in some aspects the Belgian law ought to be improved so to implement some provisions of the Directive not yet dealt with in the law of 2005. It recommends to include in the Belgian law a definition on mediation, and also to stipulate which Belgian institution in particular shall provide the requested information on mediation and communicate with the European authorities. The contribution also suggests to consider introducing into the Belgian law a mechanism to promote mediation through incentives and/or sanctions, for which the measures recently adopted in the English legal system might possibly serve as an example.

Since 1 January 2010 the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation has special rules for mediation in IT disputes. Flexibility and fastness are central to these rules.

Research shows that many companies are unfamiliar with Effective Dispute Resolution (EDR) methods. Increasingly however managers wish to effectively solve disputes. This has resulted in the development of a simple tool for managers. Our conflict resolution chart is based on a literature study of factors proven to play a role in the choice for a particular dispute resolution method. The conflict resolution chart was refined based on the answers of ten managers to a questionnaire about the developed tool. The manager can use the chart as a first indicator of what course of actions with regard to the conflict he has to take.