Best Practices Adopted by Universities in The Development of Mediation in The Czech Republic

This article provides a comprehensive overview of key practices that may be adopted by the universities in order to advance mediation as a dispute resolution method among young professionals and key stakeholders of dispute resolution. The findings are based on the case study of the Charles University, Faculty of Law, which has been chosen due to its sharp rise in the number and variety of theoretical and practical university offerings related to mediation. It, therefore, represents a sustainable model of a progressive university program. The authors describe and analyse a full range of its university classes, summer schools, workshops, student societies, competitions, and conferences, many of which are self-organized by the students and university alumni themselves. They report how the various mediation activities developed over time, what contributed to their success, or posed a challenge, and offer an insight into the specific curriculums and practical methodologies. While they may be context and location-specific, the authors believe they are transferable and have the potential to serve as valuable inspiration for other developing ADR programs. To put those educational efforts into a broader context, the authors consider the state of the legal development of mediation in the Czech Republic. e Mediation has been introduced into its respective legal system only after the establishment of the democratic government in 1989, due to it being a communist country. Yet it took more than twenty years to adopt a legal framework that would regulate the basic principles of mediation and its exercise. Furthermore, the authors briefly draw attention to some of the challenges mediation is facing in the Czech Republic after the adoption of the Mediation Act in 2012. They consider in more detail how the specific obstacles may be mitigated by the proactive approach of the universities, especially law faculties, which have a direct relationship with the future driving forces of dispute resolution, such as future legislators, judges, and other professionals. The authors express a notion that the university activities are likely to have a positive impact on the (herein referred to as “ADR”) culture in the Czech Republic, especially in the following years, which is supported by the latest programs developed by government institutions and private parties which are emerging continuously, some of which have direct or indirect relationships, and contact with the university environment. Finally, they provide concrete recommendations as a list of best practices, which were gathered from the analysis of the case study of Charles University.