HISTORY OF MEDIATION - COURT-REFERRED MEDIATION - Peer Mediation

It sounds strange but the activity of mediation, in fact, precedes lawsuits.

The earliest example of mediation dates back to the times of Ancient Sumer society, where before being brought to court hearing cases had to be heard by the so called 'mashkim'. His role, like that of a mediator, was to assist the disputing parties in their efforts to resolve the dispute by themselves.

The practice for dispute resolution developed in Ancient Greece was called public arbitrage. Though the term used was arbitrage the arbiter's main goal was to assist the parties in their way towards the resolution of their dispute. Only when they were not able to reach an agreement the arbiter had the right and the power to pass a sentence.

In China 2 500 years ago the great philosopher Confucius proclaimed the superiority of mutual respect over confrontation and the superiority of law.
"The best solution is the reconciliation of the parties involved; this, however, should not be imposed in any way, not even indirectly." Confucius

In the Chinese traditions and culture, based on the Confucian philosophy of natural harmony and dispute resolution through rather ethical than imposed methods, mediation is the first possible choice for dispute resolution.

In Japan reconciliation has been historically the main method of dispute resolution. It was practiced through the intermediacy of country leaders, who functioned as mediators. Even today in Japan the main focus in negotiations is to create and preserve relationships.

Mediation also has its roots in Christianity. For instance, in The Gospel of Mathew there is a procedure for dispute resolution in which the parties first try to resolve their dispute through conversation between them. If they are not successful in this, mediation is applied, and only after that in case there is no reconciliation, the Bible stipulates that the dispute be taken before public representatives.

In the period from the 1880-s to the 1930-s in the town of Plovdiv in Bulgaria the most notable, renown and respectable citizens mediated in dispute resolutions among their fellow citizens. They were called 'hodatai' and practiced mediation in their offices situated on the main street of the town, the so-called 'charshia' near the famous "Kurshum Han".

Edited and adapted by Zoya Gerasimova