NECESSITY OF MEDIATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OF LITHUANIA

Abstract

This article deals with the problems which emerge during the implementation of
mediation in the civil matters of Lithuania. The scope of socio-cultural circumstances
in Lithuania nowadays indicates the evident need to adopt mediation as one of the
most powerful and effective conflict management procedures.
Mediation comes from the historically mature tradition of communitarianism
and cooperation in society, it is interconnected with the culture of interactions of
individuals and organizations, and it depends on the legal, institutional, and
educational environment. Thus, applying mediation isn’t a simple adoption of some
activity patterns. The nowadays rapidly changing socio-cultural environment must be
analyzed accurately in order to achieve the progress of implementation of mediation.
A wide range of areas where mediation is in use in many European countries
and overseas shows how promising this direction of peacemaking for society
consolidation and its functionality is. Lithuanian society definitely requires
mediation for strengthening the integrity and the culture of cooperation.
The article investigates the positive and negative factors of the legal,
institutional and educational environment in Lithuania, which are vital for the
implementation of mediation. Some experimental projects have been conducted lately
to probe mediation as a way of conciliation in the courts. The code of judicial
mediation was approved by the Council of Courts. Hence we may suggest that one
kind of mediation—judicial mediation—has moved.
It is not the first year in Lithuania that new projects on conflict resolution and
mediation have been launched in schools and the community. The interest for conflict
resolution, that has up till now manifested rather spontaneously, signalizes the need
in society to learn modern ways of solving complex and intricate problems,
managing crises, and disputes by using counselling, negotiation and mediation
procedures.
What is needed is a conflict resolution pedagogy, which could become an
integral part of education of all levels and forms.
Different and continuous efforts are necessary for the improvement of legal and
institutional mechanisms so that the regulation of different types of disputes and
crises becomes an inseparable part not only in legal practice, but also in public life,
institution and organization management and interaction.