Pravna narava dogovora v mediaciji - Marin, Nina (N. Marin, 2016)
Mediacija kot ena izmed oblik alternativnega reševanja sporov je proces, v katerem ni sodnika, ki bi odločal o spornem vprašanju, ampak je nevtralna tretja oseba tista, ki pomaga strankam, da dosežejo sporazum. Vloga mediatorja v tem procesu torej ni odločati o spora, ampak omogočiti strankam najboljše možnosti in jim pomagati pri usmeritvi, da dosežejo sporazum. Proces mediacije je prostovoljen, fleksibilen in zaupen, kar predstavlja pomembno prednost, zaradi katere se v zadnjem času vse več strank odloča, da bodo spor reševale s pomočjo tega postopka. Eden izmed razlogov zaradi katerega se stranke odločajo za mediacijo je tudi ta, da je veliko cenejša in hitrejša od sodnih postopkov, kar velja še posebej za Veliko Britanijo. Zaradi nevtralnosti mediatorja so stranke precej bolj zaupljive kot če se spor odvija pred sodiščem, pri tem pa je pomembna razlika med obema postopkoma. V postopku mediacije mediator ne sprejme nobene zavezujoče odločitve in ne presoja, katera stranka ima v sporu prav. Stranki tako obdržita neke vrste avtonomnost, katere rezultat je sporazum, ki ga oblikujeta stranki sami z lastno aktivnostjo, mediator pa jima pri tem samo pomaga. Rešitev mediacije je lahko tudi brez pravnih elementov, kar pomeni, da se lahko zaključi z opravičilom, obžalovanjem, moralno zavezo. Kljub temu da se mediacijski postopek sicer lahko konča na različne načine, je sklenitev sporazuma o rešitvi spora najbolj zaželena. Izbiro oblike sklenjenega sporazuma imajo stranke same oziroma je to odvisno od okoliščin in pravil konkretne mediacije. Pri tem je za odločitev o tem, kakšno obliko sporazuma bodo stranke sklenile, pomembna pravna narava posameznega dogovora oziroma sporazuma. Ena izmed možnosti je sklenitev izvensodne poravnave, ki ima to slabost, da kot pogodba civilnega prava ni neposredno izvršljiva. To lahko pomeni precejšnjo slabost v primeru, ko ena izmed pogodbenih strank svoje obveznosti ne izpolni, saj taka poravnava ne omogoča prisilne izpolnitve v izvršbi, ampak mora upravičenec to zahtevati s tožbo v sodnem postopku. Stranke pa pridobijo izvršljivost doseženega sporazuma, če ga sklenejo v obliki neposredno izvršljivega notarskega zapisa, sodne poravnave ali v obliki arbitražne odločbe na podlagi poravnave. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), a process of resolving disputes between parties. Instead of the judge deciding about the dispute, mediation involves a third party who helps the parties to come to an agreement. The role of the mediator is not deciding about the dispute but to help parties reach a solution to their problem and to arrive at an outcome that is acceptable for both parties. The important advantage of the mediation is that it is a voluntary, flexible and confidential process which is the reason that the number of the parties deciding for the process of the mediation is grooving in last decade. One of the reasons for that is that the mediation is much cheaper and faster than litigation, which is especially true for the Great Britain. The important difference between the mediation and the litigation is that parties are more confident talking to the neutral third party than in the litigation. Mediator is not making judgements or taking sides in the process. This gives the parties authoritative to form an agreement on their own and mediator is there just to help them. The result of the mediation can be without legal aspects and can end with an apology, regret or with moral commitment. Mediation can end in different ways but it is better if it ends with settling an agreement. The parties can decide on their own in which form they will make an agreement and it can depend on the circumstances and the rules of concrete mediation. When settling an agreement, it is important for the parties the legal nature that the agreement will have. One of the possible forms is settlement made outside the court but it has an important disadvantage that it cannot be directly enforced because it has a nature of the civil law contract. This is important when one of the parties does not complete the obligation, because the other party cannot enforce his right directly with the execution but it has to require the action in the litigation. It can be easier for the parties if they settle an agreement in the form of directly enforceable notaries, court settlement or in the form of an arbitral award on the basis of settlement.