Walker

	3 WMF ITALIA 2000 The Future of Family Mediation in Europe JANET WALKER ABSTRACT
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Country: England Language: English	The rapid pace of social change in most western countries in the last twenty years has been characterised by failing marriage rates and rising divorce rates. Although the incidence of divorce varies between countries, there is not a single country in Europe which has not experienced an increased in the numbers of marriages ending in divorce. In 1995 the Committee of Experts on Family Law of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, set up a Working Group to consider mediation and other processes to resolve family disputes. This led to the preparation of a Recommendation on family mediation which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in January 1998. Recommendation No(98) 1 is an important landmark in family law since it recommends that member States of the Council of Europe should introduce or promote family mediation where it does not currently exist, and strengthen it wherever necessary in those States where mediation has already been introduced. It was launched at a congress in Strasbourg in October 1998, attended by the French Minister of Justice and the Lord Chancellor of England. The use of family mediation as an alternative to judicial or administrative decision-making is a relatively new process in Europe. Developments have been ad-hoc, with no previous international legal instrument to establish the basic principles and main directions. In 1997, the Working Group invited States to provide information about the use of family mediation in family matters. Responses from twelve States indicated that the aims and objectives of mediation processes were largely similar, although different States use differing terminology to describe mediation. Despite the uncoordinated way in which family mediation has developed and the inevitable existence of a wide variety of practice styles and settings, most family mediators in Europe appear to share a common set of principles. As family mediation gains a more prominent and more secure position as an alternative dispute resolution process, and as policymakers accept the need to find better ways of resolving family disputes, there is increasing demand for a more standard framework for the establishment and regulation of mediation. Recommendation 98(I) aims to assist and provide member States of the Council of Europe with a consistent framework for the development of family mediation.		Newcastle Centre for Family Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne - Appointed as the Expert Consultant to the Working Group at the Council of Europe responsible for drawing up Recommendation (98)I.
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