he Council of Europe is conducting an expert review on the integration of private mediation centres into the national system. To this end, the functioning of private mediation centres and regulations on the accreditation of mediators and mediation centres in European countries are being reviewed. In addition, an assessment of the functioning of the existing mediation centres in Turkey is being undertaken.
Under scope of the activity “Conducting Research on the Feasibility on Aspects of Organisation of Mediation” within the framework of the EU-CoE Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey”, a workshop was held in Antalya on 31 March – 1 April 2022.
On the first day of the workshop, following the opening speeches, the Council of Europe international consultants Leonardo D'Urso and Adi Gavrila and national consultants Nurhan Ünal and Aşiyan Süleymanoğlu made their presentations on the results and recommendations regarding the accreditation of mediators and mediation centres and on the most eligible model for the system in Turkey considering international and EU best practices. In this context, the participants had the opportunity to discuss the advantages and disadvantages, including the possible obstacles and opportunities that may be encountered due to the restructuring of the system during mediation as cause of action.
On the second day of the workshop, issues such as the structure, status, number of partners, revenues of mediation centres as well as the works and transactions that can be realised in the centres and their accreditation requirements were discussed by regathering with the relevant stakeholders. The meeting ended with a “speaker’s corner” session.
The workshop was held with approximately 220 participants, including representatives of the Ministry of Justice, mediation centre representatives from across Turkey, national and international consultants from the Council of Europe, and Council of Europe project team.
The entire research, supported by the work of national and international consultants, analysis of qualitative research/focus group surveys and prepared by combining results of the field visits and workshop, will be completed in the form of a final feasibility report to be evaluated by the Ministry of Justice and to take further steps.
The Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution in Turkey” is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey – Directorate General for Criminals Affairs and Directorate General for Legal Affairs are the end beneficiaries of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority.
