The possible for mediation in Poland is not full exploited

The main barrier to the improvement of mediation in Poland is the deficiency of information from competent authorities about this method of resolving disputes alternate to court proceedings. Additionally, there are stereotypes concerning its low effectiveness or the unsatisfactory salaries of mediators – the authors of the study “Mediation in Poland: effectiveness, barriers and prospects for development” indicate. Among the proposals that could improve the situation were, among others, the pilotage of compulsory mediation in a circumstantial category of cases, the creation of the Central strategy of Mediation or the introduction of the institution of the alleged settlement judge.

Mediation is simply a voluntary and confidential procedure in which a neutral mediator is to assist the parties in reaching an agreement acceptable to each participant. Its aim is not to settle the dispute by the authority, but to find a solution satisfactory to both parties. In the Polish legal order the institution of mediation is present in civil, family, economical and criminal matters, and since 2017 besides in administrative proceedings. Despite formal authorisation, its usage remains limited in practice.

– Unfortunately, mediation is not full exploited today, although it should – Says Newseria agency Dr. Mariusz Filipek, legal advisor, co-author of the report.

Mediations can be divided, among another things, due to the minute of their initiation – into court to which the court directs, and out of court (initiated by the parties themselves). The publication refers to data from the Ministry of improvement and Technology, which show that the number of mediations carried out in mediation centres between 2016 and 2020 remained unchangeable and there was a marked increase in the following 2 years. Experts point out that this increase was the consequence of an increase in disputes over franc loans, which translated into an increased number of mediation cases. The large scale of specified conflicts, their repetition and the advanced costs and time-consuming nature of the litigation led the parties to search alternate solutions to the dispute.

Data from the Ministry of Justice show that the rate of judicial mediation is increasing, i.e. the percent of cases addressed to amicable resolution in relation to the number of cases brought to court in which this method can be applied. However, it is inactive low. In 2024 it amounted to about 1.5%. Statistical Information Office of the Justice Dimension shows that last year it increased to 2.3% (47.5 1000 cases were sent to mediation, compared with over 2.1 million cases in which it could be applied). There are crucial regional differences. While this percent was 4.8% in the Warsaw appeal, 1.2% in Wroclaw.

– The barrier is the deficiency of information about specified an alternate to judicial proceedings. This is besides the ignorance of the interested, and so besides entrepreneurs “Dr. Mariusz Filipek emphasises.

The study shows that Poland is inactive convinced that mediation is not as effective as judicial proceedings. There is so no habit of utilizing this dispute settlement way both among citizens and professional representatives. In addition, there is simply a low level of cognition of the benefits of this, specified as lower costs, shorter duration (than in court proceedings) or greater flexibility of solutions. As the Ministry of Justice points out, the court, by directing the parties to the conflict to mediation, sets the duration for up to 3 months.

– The conventional judicial process lasts on average respective years and the mediation takes respective months. For respective years the entrepreneur has frozen money, and sometimes the fact that there is no payment, can lead to its liquidation and elimination from the marketplace explains the legal advisor.

ISWS data besides indicate that in economical matters in 2024 territory courts directed almost 2.6 1000 cases to mediation (in 2023 there were nearly 3 1000 cases). As a consequence of the agreement reached before the mediator, 675 cases were dismissed.

The voluntary nature of mediation may besides be a barrier, as it means that there are no circumstantial incentives or mandatory points of contact with mediation. Experts besides mention comparatively low wage rates of mediators as well as the deficiency of harmonised qualification standards.

– 1 of our recommendations presented in the study is to make the Central strategy of Meditation. It will bring together all mediation centres, give them uniform guidelines – explains Dr. Mariusz Filipek.

The task of the Central strategy of Mediation would be to guarantee the consistency of the existing rules and to systematise and classify existing mediation centres. Each of them would keep its independency and be supervised by the Central Media Centre. The study stresses that the introduction of an institution that affects the velocity of effective dispute resolution can be crucial in the current economical order.

Another call is simply a systemic approach to promoting, developing and utilizing mediation. The introduction of effective mechanisms for its dissemination, including appropriate regulations, educational and organisational activities, is, in the opinion of experts, essential to make it a viable part of the justice system.

– We besides created an thought on the alleged settlement judge, who will talk about the settlement, encourage it and direct it to mediation – points out the legal advisor.

According to the proposal, specified a justice should receive transparent tools and operational objectives related to the management of settlement mechanisms, as well as recommendations on the effective encouragement of parties to mediation.

Another thought is the introduction of pilots of the alleged compulsory mediation in selected categories of cases, e.g. workers or consumers.

– The current mediation regulations are constantly being clarified and improved. This is an example of the entry into force of the amendment to the civilian Procedure Code from 1 March, which refers to the compulsory mediation of disputes arising from the investment process or concerning works contracts. This is another component to make mediation more popular and to resolve disputes more frequently – says Dr. Mariusz Filipek.

According to the amendment of the April 5, 2025, mediation will be the first step in resolving construction disputes from 1 March. The court will gotta mention both parties to them before the preparatory sitting or the first hearing.

In addition, work is underway on the bill on judicial mediators. It is intended to introduce solutions to order the mediation strategy in Poland. 1 of the most crucial changes will be the creation of the National registry of Mediators in electronic form, which will replace the existing paper lists conducted by courts. We are besides talking about the introduction of uniform standards for training and examination of mediators, as well as the work for the Minister of Justice to accredited training centres.