Mediation - what is still to be learned in Scandinavia?

• Author: Mikkelsen, Jes Anker
• Position: Reprinted from Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee newsletter, March 2014 - Reprint

This article originally appeared in the March 2014 Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee newsletter.

IN Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia, the idea of alternative dispute resolution-such as mediation--is still young and full of unutilized potential. Ten years have gone by since the mediator education giving lawyers the opportunity to become certified mediators was first introduced in Denmark. Therefore, it is season for a retrospect of the past decade of mediation in Scandinavia-how has the development been and where can we improve as we go forward?

The Development in Scandinavia

Since 2003, Denmark has promoted a mediation education program aiming at educating lawyers to become certified mediators. Mediators are members of the organization Danish Mediation Lawyers and, with the support of the Danish Bar and Law Society, this organization established the Danish Mediation Institute with a view to offer mediation solutions in private and commercial disputes. Since 2003, mediation has also been offered by the Danish Institute of Arbitration.

At the time when the education program was first introduced, no Danish lawyers were certified mediators or the like, and the number of commercial disputes settled by mediation was very limited. At that time, meditation was only used in a few family law disputes. Now, according to official sources, roughly 400 lawyers are certified mediators, and 20 disputes were settled by mediation in 2013, as compared to 15 in 2012.

These are the official figures provided by the official Danish Mediation Institute. To these figures must be added an unknown number of ad hoc mediation cases which have presumably also taken place.

Based on information provided by the official mediation institutes of the two other Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway, the situation is the same throughout the rest of Scandinavia.

The figures show that development is heading in the right direction. However, as compared to, for instance, the U.S., the number of disputes settled by mediation in Scandinavia is still insignificant and disappointing.

Mediation as a Cost-Saving Means

Mediation is time-saving and consequently cost-saving. Obviously, no court or arbitration tribunal can compete with a time frame of three months in which most mediation cases are concluded.

Contrary to litigation and arbitration, mediation implies resolving the dispute according to the interests and needs of the parties and, therefore, fundamental legal...