In this article Bie Vanseveren and Inge Vanfraechem outline and discuss the practice of a Hergo with juveniles in Belgium.

This research aims to explore empirically (method: questionnaire) the usefulness of mediation as a technique of external conflict management in the event of a family business transfer. More specifically, the research intents to verify if the conditions of application, the consequences and the benefits of mediation as described in general literature apply to the context of a family business (transfer), since Prince underlined 25 years ago that research is required to develop: ‘a system of intervention that employs the concepts, techniques, and logic of mediation that apply to the unique aspects of family business’. Results of the own research showed that mediation was an adequate technique of external conflict management in the context of a family business transfer and that it was more successful than consulting, defined as other techniques of external conflict management, in the researched cases. Furthermore, the research found indications that mediation is an adequate technique beyond the researched cases.

Inclusive mediation involves a mediator whose neutrality is based on involvement with both sides of the dispute, and whose normative references are implicit; he or she is an insider. Exclusive mediation, on the other hand, involves a third party whose neutrality derives from his knowing neither disputant, and whose references to norms are explicit; an outsider, so to speak. The concepts of inclusive and exclusive mediation have been introduced by the anthropologist Carol Greenhouse in the 1980s. Inclusive mediation heavily relies on local knowledge and local ties, and its orientation can be labelled as horizontal. Basically, it fits small-scale societies, while exclusive mediation is more common in Europe and the United States. This article is about dispute settlement in an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian highlands, were I have encountered a unusual mixture of both forms: a local teniente político who applies inclusive as well as exclusive aspects of mediation at the same time.

In a sequal to his earlier contribution in TMD 2014 (18) 2, p. 63, the author describes in more detail the ins and outs of the statute of 30 July 2013 on family and juvenile courts. With this new statute Belgian family and juvenile law are modernized. Also, the new statute started an autonomous development in family procedure, apart from the general civil procedure rules: most of the family conflicts can be solved in a shortened procedure and the possibility of mediation is introduced.

The Netherlands has a long history of alternative dispute resolution in the area of education. Recently, empirical research by ‘Onderwijsgeschillen’, the largest organization for dispute resolution in this field, has lead to the successful introduction of mediation in certain types of alternative conflict resolution. In this article, Hilde Mertens, managing director of Onderwijsgeschillen, describes this research, the practical implementation of its findings, and the positive impact of mediation in conflict resolution in education.

The author discusses the details of the new Belgian statute on class actions. An intriguing part of the new legislation is that friendly negotiations between the disputing parties are strongly encouraged, yet the intervention of a professional mediator is wholly absent from the law. This is surprising, as the author emphasizes, in view of the procedural safeguards that mediation entails, safeguards that could also be of use in mass litigation.

Research has been conducted by Leiden Law School into the efficacy of an instrument based on insolvency practice, ‘Harvard negotiation’ and ‘serious gaming’ aiming at better conflict management in case of (near) bankruptcy. Business rescue workout simulation games were played at different places worldwide. Serious gaming provides insight in the complexity and dynamics of (informal) reorganizations. The research further confirms that the Harvard negotiation-principles and the INSOL International Statement of Principles for a Global approach to multi-creditor workouts may provide a useful contribution to the realization of a successful (international) financial restructuring. The intervention of skilled neutrals is often significative. More focus on communication, negotiation and cooperative dispute resolution is also consistent with the initiatives of legislators and policymakers which stimulate companies to restructure at an early stage of financial distress. These developments also make ADR-skills become of more relevance to (insolvency) professionals.