The Parliament has approved Friday, May18, a draft law on mediation, the third of this kind examined by MPs during one year. According to the new draft law, mediation in civil and criminal cases will be made through active participation of a professional mediator – a third party - who will work to find points of agreement and make those in conflict agree on a fair result. This is an alternative solution to the judicial settlement of disputes. The draft law defines the principles of mediation, contains provisions on ways to initiate, suspend or terminate the mediation process, sets the limits of the circle of participants, and lays out the rights and obligations of the parties involved and of the mediator. Vladimir Turcan, one of the draft law’s authors, told the plenary sitting that in contrast to other procedures, mediation has the advantage of offering more convenient outcomes for the parties involved in the dispute. Besides, this way of settling civil conflicts is money and time-saving compared to judicial procedures. The adoption of the draft law on mediation will entail amendments to the Civil Code, Civil Procedure Code, and Penal Procedure Code in order to establish rules for suspending the limitation period and to guarantee the confidentiality principle. In 2006, the Parliament passed in the first reading the draft law on mediation of civil cases and the draft law on mediation of criminal cases. For the second reading, the three drafts will be compiled.