Mediation as a means of settling conflicts between business entities will be promoted in the Republic of Moldova within a project that is supported with European funds. In the project launch event, Deputy Minister of Justice Eduard Serbenco said the institution of mediation has already become entrenched in Moldova and the adoption of the Law on Medication in 2015, which replaced the legal act of 2007, contributed to this.

“The legislation is at its second experience and this is a positive experience,” said the deputy minister, quoted by IPN. Eduard Serbenco also said that the Ministry of Justice issues mediator authorizations and a new Mediation Council was recently approved.

Within the new project, 30 mediators will be trained to broaden access to the commercial mediation service within the judicial system and private sector.

British Ambassador to Moldova Lucy Joyce said this support provided to Moldova forms part of the justice sector reform project. Speaking about the experience of her country, the diplomat said mediation in the UK is much faster and implies much lower costs compared with the classical trials. She voiced hope that the results of this project will have a reflection in the Moldovan regulatory framework.

The project to promote mediation has a budget of €420,000 and will be implemented during two years. The financial support is provided by the United Kingdom AID and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution and the Ministry of Justice. The money will be used to train mediators and offer consultancy in drafting Government Decisions and to organize campaigns to promote mediation.