Mexico
Mediation, as a formal and structured process within the justice system, has proven its effectiveness in Mexico, after over a decade of increasing usage and awareness. This is true particularly in some states, where the judiciary has taken serious steps forward in implementing mediation programs and raising awareness.
The path is yet a long one, however, before it can be said that mediation is a widespread practice, more so if we speak of private mediation. Companies and law firms are not yet using or recommending mediation as a general basis for their legal disputes. In Mexico City, where efforts have been very pronounced toward the growth of mediation, only 6 – 9% of legal disputes are mediated.
Why is this so? There is a lack of incentives, lack of awareness, lack of infrastructure, and appropriate legal formation for mediation in Mexico.
There are, nonetheless, important signs that sooner rather than later, mediation will become increasingly common. These signs are, among others: the creation of a National Mediation Law that is currently in Congress, multiple initiatives at the city, state and federal level that tend to incentivize the growth of alternative justice and peace building strategies, and the international trend to foster mediation for cross-border disputes, such as the newly created Singapore Mediation Convention.
SENIOR FELLOWS – MEXICO
Fernando Navarro Sánchez currently serves as the Capacity Building and Conflict Resolution Expert at the Ombudsman’s Office for UN Funds and Programmes. He is also a commercial mediator with experience mediating and co-mediating complex matters involving parties and counsel from Latin America, the U.S. and Europe.
Nuria Gonzalez-Martin is a family, civil, and commercial mediator, as well as a professor and senior researcher at the Law Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
