MEDIATION AS A FORM OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION FOR INDIVIDUAL LABOR DISPUTES - COMPARATIVE LEGAL REVIEW WITH ENGLAND

Alternativno reševanje sporov (ARS) je nesodno reševanje sporov, ki je znano in se uporablja v Evropi in svetu. V nekaterih državah, kjer imajo na tem področju dolgo tradicijo, so postopki ARS del vsakdanjika, v drugih se postopki šele razvijajo in pridobivajo na veljavi. Sporom se ne bo možno nikoli povsem izogniti, zaradi česar so postopki ARS toliko bolj pomembni, saj je znano, da je večino sporov možno rešiti tudi brez posredovanja sodišča. Pri mediaciji gre za izvensodni proces, v katerem stranke prostovoljno s pomočjo nevtralne tretje osebe (mediatorja) skušajo doseči mirno rešitev spora, ki izvira iz ali je v zvezi s pogodbenim ali drugim pravnim razmerjem. Je neformalen, neobvezujoč, zaupen in strukturiran postopek, v katerem mediator strankam z dogovarjanji, pogajanji ter posebnimi mediacijskimi tehnikami pomaga pri iskanju sporazumne rešitve nastalega spora. Mediacija je v Sloveniji kot temeljni alternativni način reševanja sporov relativno nov institut, medtem ko je v angleškem sistemu mediacija oziroma konciliacija že dolgo uveljavljen in cenjen način reševanja sporov – predvsem delovnih. S sprejetjem Zakona o mediaciji v civilnih in gospodarskih zadevah in kasneje še Zakona o alternativnem reševanju sodnih sporov je bil v Sloveniji položen temelj alternativnemu reševanju sporov, saj je ZARSS mediacijo uvedel kot redno poslovno funkcijo sodišč prve in druge stopnje. V prvem delu so predstavljene temeljne razlike med alternativnim reševanjem sporov in sodnim odločanjem ter zakonska ureditev instituta mediacije. V drugem delu so podrobneje predstavljene prednosti mediacijskega postopka ter prednosti, ki jih ima ureditev postopka mediacije v delovnih sporih pri delodajalcih, kateri bi v kolektivno pogodbo vnesli določbe, iz katerih bi izhajalo, da se v primeru nastalega spora med delavcem in delodajalcem le-ta prvotno poskuša rešiti na miren način s pomočjo mediacije. Vodilo magistrske naloge je ugotavljanje razširjenosti ter uspešnosti mediacije pred in po sprejetju ZARSS, kakor tudi njena učinkovitost napram rednemu sodnemu postopku, katera je bila merjena v porabi časa, ki je potreben za rešitev posamezne zadeve. Prav tako je bilo proučeno in raziskano razmerje stroškov pri postopku mediacjie (kjer se ne uporablja načelo uspeha postopka, temveč se običajno uporablja načelo delitve stroškov) napram sodnim stroškom. Tako kot porabljeni čas, ima tudi višina stroškov zelo pomemben vpliv na učinkovitost posameznega postopka. Ker imajo postopki ARS zelo dolgo tradicijo v Angliji, sem v tretjem delu proučil ter primerjal njihovo ureditev z ureditvijo postopkov ARS pri nas, iz katere je razvidna prednost angleškega sistema predvsem zaradi dolgoletne tradicije reševanja delovnih sporov pri instituciji ACAS (Advisory Concilation and Arbitration Service). ACAS s svojim prizadevanjem, kakovostnim delom, izobraževanji in predvsem s stalno informiranostjo delavcev in delodajalcev o možnih načinih reševanja njihovih sporov pripomore k temu, da se večina nastalih sporov reši z njihovo pomočjo. Različen pravni sistem ter kulturne razlike so razlogi, zaradi katerih imata Slovenija in Anglija tako različen razvoj mediacije. Vendar je Slovenija s sprejetjem temeljnih zakonov, ki urejajo postopke ARS (mediacijo), na dobri poti, da se le-ta v prihodnosti uveljavi tudi pri nas. V zaključku magistrske naloge pa sem navedel predloge, ki bi morebiti pripomogli, da bi se postopki ARS (mediacija) v prihodnosti pri nas še bolje uveljavili in bi tako ljudje spoznali, da so ti postopki napram sodnim učinkovitejši, manj stresni, cenovno ugodnejši, in kar je najpomembnejše, da uspešno zaključena mediacija pri delovnih sporih hkrati pomeni tudi obnovitev zaupanja med strankama, ki omogoča nadaljnjo medsebojno sodelovanje, katero po končanem sodnem postopku v večini primerov ni možno.Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a non-judicial dispute resolution which is being used in Europe and worldwide. In some countries with a long tradition of ADR its procedures are part of everyday life, while in others those procedures are still developing and gaining validity. Disputes will never be completely avoidable making ADR procedures all the more important, because it is a fact that most disputes could be resolved without the intervention of the court. Mediation is a non-judicial process where parties are, with the help of a neutral third party (mediator), voluntarily trying to reach a peaceful settlement of the dispute arising from or being in connection with a contractual or any other legal relationship. It is an informal, non-binding, confidential and structured process in which the mediator helps parties with conciliation, negotiation and specific mediation techniques while seeking consensual solutions for the dispute. Mediation, as a fundamental alternative of dispute resolution, is a relatively new institution in Slovenia while the English mediation system or conciliation has a long-established and respected way of resolving disputes - mostly in the field of labor. By adopting Act on mediation in civil and commercial matters (ZMCGZ), and later Act on alternative resolving of disputes in court (ZARSS) the foundation for alternative dispute resolution has been laid as ZARSS introduced mediation as a regular business function in first and second degree courts of law. Fundamental differences between alternative dispute resolving and judicial decision-making as well as the legal regulation of the institute of mediation are presented in the first part. The second part introduces in detail the advantages of the mediation process as well as benefits of that process in labor disputes with employers who may enter a provision into a collective agreement which would result in potential disputes between workers and employers being initially resolved peacefully through mediation. The premise of this thesis is to establish the prevalence and effectiveness of mediation before and after the adoption of ZARSS as well as its effectiveness in comparison to regular court procedures measured by the time needed to resolve particular issues. The ratio of costs occurring in the mediation process (which does not apply the principle of the proceeding’s success but rather commonly uses the cost sharing principle) in comparison to legal costs has also been examined and studied. Like the time spent, the amount of the costs also has a significant influence on the effectiveness of the procedure. Because ADR procedures have a long tradition in England, I have examined and compared it to the regulations of ADR procedures in Slovenia in the third section of this thesis, where the apparent advantage of the English system, mainly due to their long tradition of resolving labor disputes at ACAS (Advisory Concilation and Arbitration Service) can be observed. With its efforts, quality of work, education and, especially, with permanent knowledge provided to both workers and employers about possible ways of resolving their disputes, ACAS contributes to resolving disputes with their assistance. Different legal systems and cultural differences are the reason of Slovenia’s and England’s diverse development of mediation. However, by adopting the fundamental laws governing the operations of ADR (mediation), Slovenia is on the right path for its recognition in the near future. The conclusion of the thesis includes my suggestions which could possibly contribute to greater recognition of ADR processes (mediation) in the future with people realizing that these procedures are more efficient, less stressful and cheaper compared to judicial ones, and most importantly, that a successfully completed mediation in labor disputes also means restoring trust between the parties and enables further mutual cooperation which, after judicial proceedings, in most cases becomes impossible