Mediation and other non-adjudicative mechanisms of conflict resolution have been part of the Italian legal system for several decades. While earlier legislative attempts to develop the use of mediation were largely unsuccessful, the more recent mediation law and regulations enacted at the beginning of the current decade proved to be effective in furthering the use, practice and culture of mediation among legal practitioners, businesses and private individuals.

Following the input of the 2008 European Directive on Mediation, the Italian legislature has implemented a sophisticated set of rules to integrate the use of mediation within the existing legal system, which has generated a significant increase in the use of mediation across a broad spectrum of civil and commercial disputes.

Today, the Italian mediation law is considered an example of effective legislative action to develop the use of mediation in civil and commercial disputes in Europe, and globally.