In this article the authors describe aspects of mediation in individual labour conflicts. In doing so, they use jurisprudence, judgements of the disciplinary commission for mediators en their own experiences as mediators. They end with the conclusion that mediation in labour conflicts needs specific knowledge, additional to the general training for mediation.

In 2005 the Mediation Act came into force in Belgium. This act makes it possible starting a procedural and legal mediation procedure, besides the usual legal measures. This article starts with a short introduction to the legal measures and continues with some notable results of an inquiry to the social mediation field by B-Mediation in cooperation with the Federal Mediation Commission. The results of the inquiry are collected in the report Barometer van de bemiddeling 2012. The authors end with confronting the results with their own experiences and an explanation of their own model for practice, and the description of a recent case.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) are on the rise in Europe and different Member States. In May 2013, the European Parliament and Council adopted an ADR Directive (n 2013/11) and ODR Regulation (n 524/2013) that will bring major changes in the European and national ADR landscapes. Both instruments are analyzed in this article. On the other hand, attention is also paid to the Belgian ODR-platform Belmed, that was created in 2011 and facilitates Belgian consumers to make an online ADR application. Finally, a plea is made for the exchange of data between ODR-platforms and national regulators, as a means to detect mass cases.

Recent experiences with collaborative divorce of the Dutch Association for Collaborative Divorce (VCDH, connected with IACP, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals), confirm the importance of broadening the practice collaborative law to affairs in business, governmental and political affairs in the Netherlands, especially in more complex questions. The importance for both ADR and professionals in law, finance, accountancy, notariate, tax affairs, psychology or organisational-, HRM- and governmental consultancy.

On 1 January 2013 the new Mediation Rules of CEPANI (the Belgian Center for Arbitration and Mediation) entered into force. The 2013 CEPANI Mediation Rules replace the 2005 version of the CEPANI Mediation Rules and also the 2010 version of the CEPANI ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Mediation Rules. The 2013 Rules contain provisions on the introduction of the mediation, the appointment of the mediator, the mediation protocol to be established at the beginning of the mediation process, the conduct of the mediation, the confidentiality, the end of the mediation and its costs. The authors comment on these various provisions of the CEPANI Mediation Rules and explain thereby also the relevant provisions of the Belgian Mediation Law contained in Chapter VII of the Belgian Judicial Code.