Achieved Results in Southeast Europe
To help SMEs cut through judicial red tape and unlock blocked assets, IFC is building on successful ADR Programs previously launched in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro. These Programs helped to draft ADR legislation, train mediators and raise awareness on the benefits of using mediation.
Since late 2003, when the ADR Program was introduced, IFC has helped establish a law on mediation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and FYR Macedonia. In order to accelerate the resolution of commercial and other disputes, cooperation arrangements are established with the Ministries of Justice to introduce commercial mediation in respective countries. As well, IFC is working closely with state institutions, courts, associations, chambers of commerce, bar associations, developmental agencies, international organizations, and individuals, each of which has strongly supported IFC’s efforts to introduce mediation.
Till today, over 700 individuals have been trained; series of thematic roundtables, conferences and presentations are delivered. To use these newly trained mediators and explore business community’s interest, IFC launched six pilot mediation projects: in Banja Luka and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; in Belgrade and Subotica, Serbia, and in Skopje, Macedonia.
IFC has worked to develop two different mediation models based upon the legal framework and the court administration processes in the respective countries. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia it helped to create a “Court referred model’ which means that independent mediation centers are structured such that they are allied to the courts, though they are separate from them. In Serbia, mediation takes place for now within the court itself which is the “Court annexed model’. In both cases when compared to the regular court procedure, mediation is faster, cheaper, and provides better solutions. To enhance the sustainability and to facilitate the replication of pilot initiatives, a Pilot Project Management Manual for Court-Referred Mediation has also being designed.
Mediation Pilots Saves Businesses Time and Money
In the past two years over 2700 cases have been successfully mediated, freeing up about € 45 million of commercial funds. Once in mediation, a high percentage of the cases were able to be successfully resolved. The pilot projects, which were set up during 2004/2005, show an average success rate of 75 percent, while also reducing time taken to resolve disputes from an average of 500 days (time necessary to proceed a case through the courts) to an average time of 2.4 hours through a mediation session. The speed of the process continues to be one of the primary attractions of mediation.
By developing a critical mass of courts that utilize mediation, primarily in the city centers where most commercial activity is taking place, it is planned that this project will spark the establishment of mediation throughout the region.
The chart below provides some statistics from the mediation pilot projects
| Number of cases Mediated | 2782 |
| Number of successful Mediations | 2095 |
| Success rate | 75% |
| Released funds | € 45.4 million |
Average time in court
Doing Business Report | 500 days |
| Average time in Mediation | 2,4 hours |
As of October, 2007
MEDIATION IN SERBIA 2004. - 2007. (PDF)
Supported by the Government of the Netherlands 
