The article analyzes the place of the institution of family mediation in the settlement of family legal relations in general, and family disputes in particular, substantiates the importance and effectiveness of introducing this institution into the legal system of Ukraine as an alternative to the court. It was found that family mediation is a process of resolving family disputes in a peaceful way (through understanding), in which an independent party (mediator) facilitates communication between the parties to the dispute and helps to make balanced decisions that satisfy the interests of each party. Family mediation is a flexible procedure for optimal resolution of various family disputes, which can be adapted to the specific situation of each family. The main principles of family mediation are: equality of parties, voluntary participation, confidentiality, independence and impartiality of the mediator.
Among the main advantages of family mediation, the authors identified: negotiations are carried out with the help of an independent mediator (mediator), who takes into account the position of each party and contributes to the formation of an appropriate atmosphere for further constructive communication; helps and enables the parties to independently form options for resolving the dispute, a plan of future actions, monitors the results of negotiations, taking into account the interests of not only the parties to the process, but in particular children; improves communication between parties, helps exchange ideas and information; decision options may go beyond the limits of legal remedies, while this is not possible in court; quick achievement of the result and resolution of the dispute in comparison with the court process; the solution is mutually beneficial, there are two sides to the win; relationships are terminated with less negative consequences; attention is focused on the needs of children, their interests are taken into account more, since the court examines the case on the basis of legal requirements, beyond which it cannot go, etc.
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