Enforceability of agreements to mediate and mediated settlement agreements in Albania

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52028/rbadr.v6.i11.ART09.AL

Keywords:

Agreement to Mediate, Court-referred Mediation, Enforceability, Ex Contractu Mediation, Mediated Settlement Agreement, Self-initiated Mediation

Abstract

The article aims to examine the provision of the Albanian Mediation Law that provides mediation as a condition for the admissibility of the lawsuit in court when the parties have provided for it in the contract as a preliminary condition before addressing the court. This legal provision is addressed considering the right of access to court and aims to discuss how these agreements to mediate are enforced. In addition, since enforcement of mediated settlement agreements is also a guarantee for the effectiveness and success of mediation, this article also focuses on the analysis of the legal framework and the problems related to their enforcement, which differ depending on how the parties have resorted to mediation (voluntarily, due to the contract, or by referral from the court), and on the type of disputes, where mainly problems arise with conflicts of ownership over immovable property. Besides the analysis of the Albanian Mediation Law, following a comparative approach, the article also addresses the mediation laws of some foreign countries.

Author Biographies

Flutura Kola Tafaj, University of Tirana

Ass. Prof. Flutura Kola Tafaj has twenty-nine years of experience as an academic and practitioner. She is a professor of Civil Procedure Law, ADR and International Arbitration Law at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Law. She is also a partner at “Kola & Associates” Law Firm in Tirana, Albania. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences. Ass. Prof. Kola Tafaj has completed several research stays at different universities and institutions in USA, France, Germany, Italy etc. She co-authored textbooks and commentaries on Civil Procedure Law, ADR and Private International Law and has published several research papers. She is also a part-time professor and training expert in civil procedure and arbitration at the School of Magistrates of Albania. She is engaged as a legal expert in many regional and international projects.

Silvana Çinari, University of Tirana

Dr. Silvana Çinari is a lecturer of Civil Procedure Law, ADR and International Arbitration Law at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Law. She is also a senior associate at “Kola & Associates” Law Firm, in Tirana, Albania. She holds a PhD from the University of Tirana. She also graduated in Master of Laws in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) at the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Dr. Çinari is the co-author of a textbook on Alternative Dispute Resolution and has authored several other publications focused mainly on domestic and international dispute resolution. She has completed several short-term qualifications and research stays mainly concerning international arbitration and private international law, at different universities and institutions across Europe, such as France, Netherlands, Germany etc. She is also engaged as a legal expert in several national, regional, and international projects related to her areas of expertise and research.

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Published

2024-07-11

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 11 (2024): jan./jun.

Section

Artigos

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