MEDIATION AS A WAY OF RESOLVING ECONMIC DISPUTES

Abstract

The article highlights the state of mediation in Ukraine under the conditions of martial law, analyzes the main provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Mediation», points out the main reasons that inhibit the development of mediation procedures. The article focuses on those benefits of mediation that are most effective in conditions of martial law. The publication outlines the main drawbacks of the current legislation, which regulates the mediation procedure, and suggests possible ways to solve them. The article demonstrates a comparative analysis of the development of mediation in other countries of the world comparing to Ukraine, which shows how other states have achieved the popularization of out-of-court forms of economic disputes resolutions. Even before the start of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation, there was already an urgent need to solve the problem of overloading the judicial system in Ukraine. The war acted as a certain trigger, which finally confirmed among progressive politicians and legal scholars the understanding that the introduction of alternative methods of disputes resolution should be implemented in the nearest future. Otherwise, massive non-resolution of disputes in the courts can turn into a complete mistrust of the business towards the judicial system as the one, which is incapable of performing the functions assigned to it. These threats are especially strengthened by new corruption scandals related to the investigations of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Such a situation is threatening for the investment climate in the country, taking into account the need for global post-war reconstruction of the destroyed infrastructure, plants, factories, energy, healthcare, education facilities, as well as housing. In the coming years, Ukraine will need significant financial investments in the country’s economy from friendly countries from abroad. Therefore, the government system must provide donor countries with an understanding that their investments are protected. The key to this is the high-quality and efficient work of the judicial system. Therefore, the issue of relieving the courts is a crucial task in post-war conditions and during martial law, because the country’s economy continues to function in difficult conditions. Increasing the number of judges and the arithmetical increase in the number of judicial institutions will not solve the problem of overloading the judicial system. To solve this task, a gradual systematic introduction of alternative ways of economic disputes (mediation, negotiations) resolution is required. This publication demonstrates how effective out-of-court dispute resolution methods can be in martial law conditions compared to the classic judicial protection of the rights and interests of economic entities. Examples of the success of mediation in such countries as the USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are illustrative, where out-of-court forms of economic disputes resolutions are real competitors to jurisdictional forms and are not inferior to them in effectiveness