Why mediation
The advantages of mediation over court proceedings
Mediation does not replace the court and does not suit every situation. Where it does fit, it usually costs less, finishes sooner and leaves the control over the solution with you. Below we compare the two routes and say plainly when mediation is not the right tool.
Mediation or court proceedings
The comparison concerns an ordinary dispute, not your particular case. Every situation has its own features, and the choice is yours.
| Criterion | Mediation | Court proceedings |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | MediationThe mediator's fee, known before the mediation contract (contract de mediere) is signed and usually borne in equal shares. | Court proceedingsState fee, lawyers' fees, expert reports and costs that repeat at every level of jurisdiction. |
| Duration | MediationUsually a few sessions, scheduled when it suits both parties. | Court proceedingsHearing dates set by the court, with possible adjournments and the time an appeal takes. |
| Control over the outcome | MediationThe solution belongs to the parties. Nothing is signed without the consent of each of them. | Court proceedingsThe solution is pronounced by the judge, within the limits of the claim and of the evidence examined. |
| Confidentiality | MediationThe sessions are confidential, and the mediator cannot be heard as a witness about facts learned in mediation. | Court proceedingsHearings are, as a rule, public, and decisions are published. |
| The relationship between the parties | MediationThe discussion is conducted so that the parties can still work together once the dispute is over. | Court proceedingsThe procedure is adversarial and often widens the distance between the parties. |
| Flexibility | MediationYou can agree on solutions a court decision cannot order: payment in instalments, apologies, rules for communication, future cooperation. | Court proceedingsThe court decides within the limits of the law and of the claim brought before it. |
| Enforcement | MediationThe agreement can acquire enforceable force under the conditions of the law, through confirmation by the court or authentication by a notary. | Court proceedingsA decision that has become final is enforced through a bailiff (executor judecătoresc). |
What you gain in practice
Predictable costs
The fee and the way the costs are shared are set in the mediation contract, before the first working session. New expenses do not appear at every stage, as they do in a case that passes through several courts.
Time saved
Sessions are scheduled around the availability of the parties, not around the court's calendar. Many disputes close within a few weeks, and the time you do not spend on proceedings stays with your work, your family or your business.
Confidentiality
What is discussed in mediation does not reach the public domain. The mediator cannot be heard as a witness about facts learned during the procedure, and through the contract the parties take on the same duty of confidentiality.
Solutions that fit the situation
A court decision answers what was asked of it. In mediation you can agree on a realistic payment schedule, on contact arrangements suited to the children, or on rules of communication between two business partners.
Relationships that can continue
Former spouses remain parents, and business partners may meet again a year from now. Mediation aims at an understanding both parties can keep to, with no winner and no loser declared in public.
A voluntary procedure from beginning to end
You enter mediation because you want to, and you can withdraw at any moment, without explanations and without penalties. If no agreement is reached, your right to go to the court remains untouched.
Mediation has its limits, and an honest mediator tells you about them from the outset. In the situations below, another route is the right one.
- When there is violence, threats or a fear between the parties that makes a free and balanced discussion impossible. Here you need the protective measures that the law enforcement authorities and the court can order, not a negotiation.
- When the other party refuses to take part or cannot be contacted. Mediation rests on the consent of both parties and cannot be started against anyone's will.
- When you need an urgent measure, a public finding that a breach has occurred, or a decision that settles a point of law for the future. Only the court can deliver results of that kind.
The first step
Let us talk about your situation
Book a first conversation. In a few minutes you will know whether mediation suits your case, with no obligation to continue.