It is interesting therefore that the Parliament seems to put particular emphasis on the provision of mediation information in relation to increasing the uptake of mediation. It highlights the value of mediation information sessions, noting that attendance at these is mandatory in some jurisdictions, and calls on Member States to “step up their efforts” to encourage the use of mediation by means of public information campaigns and information on the benefits of mediation. It also “regrets” the difficulty of obtaining statistical information on mediation, something I addressed in a previous blog on the subject of mediation research, and offers an interesting approach to addressing this by calling on the Commission to assess the need for Member States to create “national registers of mediated proceedings, which could be a source of information for the Commission, but also used by national mediators to benefit from best practices across Europe.” (par. 13).

Further recommendations to increase the use of mediation include ensuring the free circulation of mediated settlement agreements and a broadening of the scope of matters which can be referred to mediation.

The Resolution is useful in a number of ways. It provides a useful summary of the thrust of recent EU research into, and thinking on the impact of the Directive and the general status of mediation in Europe. Some of the reports to which it refers are long and a little cumbersome to read, so this distillation of their main findings is useful.

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