| 07 March 2012 | 1 Comment
 
 

Lawyers and professional participate in a recent workshop on mediation.

Conflicts are inevitable in our daily lives – whether in business, the community or household. Yet, how many of us actually want to take the dispute to the courts?  Some of Tunisia’s lawyers argue that the courthouse should not be the last stop for civil disputes and more should be done in the North African country for conflict resolution via mediation.

The National Order of Lawyers – Tunisia’s Bar Association – is undertaking a decisive new step to strengthen the mechanisms of mediation in civil society.  The Tunisian Association of International Mediation (ATIM) is a forthcoming body of lawyers and members of other professions that hope to lobby the government to address lacunae in current laws that inhibit the exercise of mediation in instances of civil litigation.

Mediation is a voluntary, confidential procedure of conflict resolution in which an independent third party structures and coordinates the negotiations between litigants to help find a solution outside of court.

The idea of having an organization to facilitate mediation is not new. Prior to the revolution, the National Order of Lawyers twice requested authorization for its creation. Both times, though, former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali rebuffed the lawyers’ petitions.  Now, civil society groups no longer need authorization from the government to create a formal body but merely have to submit a declaration of existence.

With the support of Belgium’s Brussels Mediation Center, Tunisia’s lawyers are now holding workshops to introduce mediation to professionals of other fields and creating a logo and website for the ATIM. Although lawyers and professionals possess a strong conceptual understanding, they lack practical training in mediation, said Lotfi El Ajeri, an attorney and counselor at law.

"The National Order of Lawyers in Tunisia organizes a workshop session on mediation and negotiation techniques."

“There is little opportunity to have recourse to mediation for lawyers and non-lawyers alike in Tunisia,” said Wathek Maghrebi, a lawyer and organizer of one of ATIM’s recent conferences.

One area that has had official channels for mediation has been the banking sector. A 2006 law passed by Ben Ali set up the operating conditions for a bank mediator to adjudicate clients’ claims against banking institutions.

Nevertheless, many lawyers believe that outside the financial sector civil disputes are not adequately settled through mediation. A bill seeking to strengthen marital mediation in response to high divorce rates was deliberated upon by legislators in 2010 without finalization. Civil cases around the country are usually referred to the head of the local municipality as a neutral, third party to mediate the quarrel. El Ajeri sees this as an unnecessary burden on the time and resources of local seats of government and looks to the example of Morocco, which has established mediation centers in communities outside of the country’s major cities.


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  1. Afif says:
    08 March 2012 at 04:09

    Mediation is the quickest and cheapest way to resolve conflicts. When I was a child, families mediated in family matters, and it saved several couples from divorce.
    On the business side, mediation and also arbitration (another animal) happen as a matter of course in other countries. Arbitration clauses are enforceable and the parties may not appeal them, except on limited grounds. Mediations basically lead to a written compromise or settlement, which can be enforced just like any other contract..If you live in a society where contracts are respected that is.
    In family courts in certain parts of the U.S, mediation is not required, but lawyers have devoloped the skill to know that working out a solution for the family with opposing counsel is usually more helpful to the family that a protracted ligitigation.
    Finally, mediation companies compromised of lawyers and retired judges who charge on an hourly basis should be encouraged. Typically a mediation lasts 8 hours, and the parties can negotiate amongst themselves who bears the fees of the mediator.
    Wassalam!

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