This article deals with two European proposals on consumer disputes: one proposal for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive and one for an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Regulation. The European Mediation Directive is also taken into account. Important issues are the voluntary nature of ADR and the quality of the so-called ADR entities.
Some regulation in the field of ADR might be useful, but the proposals are quite detailed. In the Netherlands, till now ADR has been successful without too much – or even without any – regulation. The two proposals could lead to undesirable intervention in an effective self-regulating ADR system.

In February 2013 a Dutch delegation of four students and two coaches travelled to Paris to participate in the annual International Commercial Mediation Competition.

My interest in mediation had been aroused when I – then a local government official – became involved in a conciliation between farmers and local residents in a dispute about cutting down trees. This experience made me decide to start working as a community-mediator in the city of Eindhoven. For a person with an agricultural background like me is community-mediating in a large city quite an adventure. You have to deal with social problems you are not familiar with, for instance because city dwellers may have other standards and values. Uncovering these standards and values and especially naming the feelings involved is essential for the communication between quarrelling neighbours, the first step towards normal mutual relations.

In this empirical-legal study, the mediation arrangements concluded in the context of a divorce by mutual consent are studied by using the social scientific method of content analysis. Within a representative sample of Flemish divorce agreements, these clauses are both quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. The quantitative results show that the number of mediation arrangements and ADR clauses in the dataset are rather low. The qualitative content analysis reveals that most mediation provisions can be improved. Ultimately, this contribution contains suggestions to improve the terminology and stipulation of the investigated clauses.

The rapid and ongoing development of the Internet has greatly affected new types and sources of conflict but also the ways conflicts are handled. Nowadays, more and more mediation service providers offer online tools to manage conflicts, going from fully e-supported mediations to hybrid mediations which are partly face to face (F2F) and partly computerized. Despite the increasing use of different types of e-supported mediation, practitioners and scholars know little about their effects or under which conditions different types of e-supported tools are best used. This contribution focuses on the role e-tools may play in text based mediations (mainly labor and divorce mediations) which are mediated by a human mediator. We hope to provide third parties of all sort (mediators, practitioners, consultants, managers, etc.) with practical guidelines for the use of e-supported mediation.

In the article the author discusses the market requirements for mediation in the Netherlands. This includes potential for growth and possible annual financial turnover. The article also explores the dynamics of the market and highlights common problems presented by clients, and also whether trends exist and whether mediators are biased in certain areas.
Clients require practical solutions to their particular problem areas. They are less interested in the abstract theories of mediation techniques. The market requirement will therefore differ and depend on those specific problem areas. Mediation will survive only if it provides mediators a realistic income.

Following an overview of the historical place of mediation in China, this contribution summarizes the outcomes of a Euro-Chinese symposium held in Beijing on 1 and 2 September 2012, focused on mediation as a case management tool for the courts. In China, mediation appears to be on the rise again since a few years, reconquering its traditional predominant place in China, after a decade of increased litigation during the period of rapid economic growth. The pressure on Chinese courts to make the parties settle raises some questions however about how to assess whether private mediation or public litigation is indicated, and by which evidence-based standards.

Humour adds to a successful mediation process. Humour creates energy. Intuitively it feels as the right thing to do because it tones down the positions in the conflict. Applying humour as a communication skill can smooth out the rough edges in the difficult phases of the dialogue.
The paper starts out with a brief description of the communicative skills that can be used in the domain of humour. In the main body of the paper the author explains his view on the productive relationship between humour and mediation. The effectiveness of humour as communication skill depends on the degree to which the mediator is aware of her or his mediation style.
The process and the result of the mediation as a whole depend upon a number of conditions: the quality of the communication, the symmetry in the context, a flexible goal orientation and putting issues into perspective. As a mediator one needs to be sure about one’s humour skills before applying them in a real life mediation.

A specialist needs an instrument to be effective. For a doctor it is his stethoscope, for a lawyer it is the law books, for a psychologist it is the psychological tests and for a mediator it is the mediation matrix. This article explains how to operate the mediation matrix, that is based upon the Transactional Analysis theory and cybernetics. It can be used as a route planner that helps the mediator to explain to his client what he is doing, how he does that and why he does that. This will reduce the client’s stress, improve his logical thinking and self management.
The mediation matrix is an instrument to improve structure and transparency. In this way the mediator can support the expression of blocking emotions. By doing this, the mediator can support the positive emotions which will follow. The mediator is no longer a person with a bag of technics, but a professional with an integrated theory and useful technique.

This article examines the practice of foreclosure mediation in the American mortgage market after the financial crisis of 2008. Many states have implemented foreclosure mediation programs to handle the deluge of foreclosure proceedings in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The role of the mortgage servicing industry in the success or failure of this type of mediation is discussed, as well as the possible outcomes of a foreclosure mediation.

This contribution discusses the EU Commission proposals for a directive on Consumer ADR and a Regulation on consumer ODR. The directive compels member state to cater for complete coverage of all contractual consumer disputes (whether domestic or cross-border) by ADR entities that meet certain quality requirements and to actively make these facilities known. The proposed regulation introduces an EU-wide single ODR platform that will transfer consumer complaints to the appropriate national entity. European comparative research suggests the business community’s initial reluctance to (co-)finance such external extra-judicial dispute reolution schemes (deploying quasi-arbitration or mediation) may be overcome in either of two ways: through the prospect of introducing EU collective consumer redress before the courts instead, or by convincing business of ADR’s use as an additional marketing feedback tool. Some open questions that remain are highlighted.

Construction contracts are particularly prone to the emergence of disputes. In Belgium, construction disputes have traditionally been referred to State Courts. In recent years however, there has been a growing interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which has gradually affected the Belgian construction sector. There are now several institutions dedicated solely to providing arbitration and ADR services to the construction industry.Beside the Centre belge de l’arbitrage et de la mediation, three institutions are specialized in the settlement of construction and real estate disputes: the Chambre de Conciliation, d’Arbitrage et de Médiation en matière immobilière, the Commission de conciliation construction and the Centre Scientifique et Technique de la Construction. These institutions offer fast and cost-effective ways of settling disputes, which are often more suitable than judicial proceedings

This article contains a sketch of the use and organisation of arbitration in the Dutch construction industry. In Holland contractual issues in construction contracts are dealt with by arbitration in the vast majority of issues. There are several arbitration institutes of which the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry is the most important. This institute published (anonymously) over a 1000 judgments in 2011. The main issues of the Dutch arbitration act and of the new act are discussed in this article. The following important new developments are being described: the arbitration clause in general conditions in contracts with a consumer (the effectiveness of these clause will be severely limited in the new act); getting an arbitrational award annulled by the state judge (very difficult as it is) is limited since this will only be asked for in front of the appeal court and not (like the present situation) first in the district court and than in the appeal court; judgments do not have to contain a motivation any more if parties say they can do without (a dangerous development).