In 2014, the National Association of Ukrainian Mediators was created to institutionalize the profession of mediation in Ukraine, through the establishment of mediation standards and mediator qualifications, as well as the development of long-term mediation courses in institutes and universities. The profession of mediation has been included in the classifications of professions in Ukraine.

While legislative acts in Ukraine have authorized judges to provide conciliatory procedures in the courts, the courts have been slow to adopt mediation. In fact, some research has suggested that courts in Ukraine do not suffer from case backlog or congestion, as in other countries. This relative efficiency suggests the judiciary will need to be persuaded to adopt mediation procedures as educated dispute resolution mechanisms, rather than as tools for greater efficiency. This is a significant point, since integrating the judiciary is key to the success of Ukrainian mediation in the future.

Despite the absence of a direct Law on Mediation thus far, the progress achieved in advancing mediation practices in Ukraine has become non-reversible, and will continue to grow.

By Galyna Yeromenko, Senior Fellow-Ukraine, Weinstein International Foundation