MEDITATION IN LAWYERS ACTIVITIES

The current stage of development of society can be characterized by certain complications of social relations, regulated by legal norms, and as a consequence - an increase in litigation, the loading of the judiciary, considerable time and money. Therefore, today the issue of finding ways to improve the efficiency of legal proceedings in Ukraine is particularly acute.

A number of states, such as the United States, Canada and the European Union, consider extra-judicial alternative means of resolving conflicts as one of these ways, namely the existence of restorative justice, the so-called "mediation".
The question of the implementation of mediation in Ukraine has been actively discussed over the last few years, which resulted in the drafting of the Law of Ukraine "On Mediation" in 2015.
In addition, on August 28, 2017, on the basis of the National University "Odessa Law Academy", the first of the regular meetings was held to discuss the standards of ethical conduct of the mediator within the framework of the All-Ukrainian tour to discuss the draft Medico Ethics Code.
The draft Code was developed by the NAMU Standardization Committee with the support of the Office of the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine (OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine). An all-Ukrainian tour of the discussion of the Mediator Code Ethics Code will take place on the basis of 10 Ukrainian cities during August-October 2017.
In accordance with the draft Law of Ukraine "On Mediation", mediation is an alternative (out-of-court) dispute resolution method by which two or more parties to the dispute attempt within the framework of a structured process, independently, on an voluntary basis to reach an agreement to resolve their dispute with the help of a mediator.
A mediator is a person who meets the requirements established by law and mediation clause (mediation agreement), which has the status of mediator in accordance with the law and which parties to the dispute have chosen for mediation
Concerning the participation in the process of mediation of a lawyer, it differs in certain peculiarities due to the presence of a lawyer in the field of jurisprudence. In particular, AM Ponosyuk attributes to such features:
1) the special domain of the lawyer's activity, connected with a comprehensive comprehensive analysis of contradictions and relations in conflicts of various subject categories;
2) the special role of the lawyer as an independent and impartial mediator, which promotes the parties in finding mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial terms of termination of the dispute;
3) a special procedure (mediation) in which the advocacy may be carried out and the place of the mediator advocate in this procedure
The lawyer implements his mediation role in the case by providing legal assistance to the parties and mediation participants, as well as by facilitating the identification of mutually beneficial solutions to the conflict by negotiating with a view to reaching voluntary agreement (reconciliation) between the parties and satisfying the needs arising from the commission of the offense.
For successful activity, the lawyer-mediator must possess not only excellent knowledge in the field of law, but also in the field of conflictology, psychology, and sociology, since his main task is to help the parties to reach a common solution to the conflict, to establish communication between them.
To this end, in Ukraine, since 2011, the Academy of Advocacy has a mediation school. In addition, the draft law provides for the creation of a single register of mediators to provide consumers with services for the free choice of the mediator to resolve the case, as well as to prevent the unscrupulous activities of persons who do not meet the criteria and requirements of the law.
Another feature of the participation of a lawyer in the process of mediation is that, in comparison with the classical model of mediation, the mediator advocate must ensure compliance with the principle of lawfulness in resolving the conflict, so that the decision of the case in no way contradicts the requirements of the current legislation, did not violate the rights, freedoms and legal the interests of third parties, and also that each party fully understands the significance and legal implications of the agreement reached.
Summing up, it should be noted that despite the rapid development of mediation at both legislative and scientific levels, it should be noted that the participation of a lawyer in this procedure has certain features that need to be addressed when it is implemented and put into practice.