Mediation Abroad and in Turkey

With the enactment of the Mediation Law on June 22, 2013, and the registration of the first official mediator, mediation entered our legal system as an alternative and amicable dispute resolution method. The dedicated efforts of the Mediation Department, mediation associations, and all mediators committed to mediation have led to its increasing prevalence in our country, contributing to social peace and reducing the burden on the judiciary.

In many societies, the roots of mediation have been significantly influenced by religion and local cultural practices, resulting in traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, and many indigenous cultures have extensive and effective mediation traditions. Despite differences among these methods, mediators have generally been respected members of society, such as elders and clergy.

In the West, with the rise of secular society, the scope of mediation and the mediators themselves expanded. For example, in the business world, guilds and their members practiced mediation.

The formal institutionalization and recognition of mediation as a profession date back to the early twentieth century. Contemporary mediation practices have grown exponentially worldwide, especially in the last 40 years.

Modern mediation began to spread in the United States in the 1970s, in England in the 1980s, and in European countries in the 1990s. Although mediation practices in Continental European legal systems have not spread as quickly as in Anglo-American legal systems, they have become quite widespread.

Official mediation practices in Turkish law started significantly later compared to global practices.

For Turkish law, a law on mediation was prepared with the aims of promoting a culture of reconciliation to achieve social peace and reducing the courts’ workload: Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes. With the enactment of the Mediation Law on June 22, 2013, and the registration of the first official mediator, mediation entered our legal system as an alternative and amicable dispute resolution method. The dedicated efforts of the Mediation Department, mediation associations, and all mediators committed to mediation have led to its increasing prevalence in our country, contributing to social peace and reducing the burden on the judiciary.