Process of expanding mediators' community is ongoing — 22 participants complete qualification course

The second training course for the qualification of mediators was held from 29 April to 3 May, in co-operation of the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, the United Nations Development Programme and the Arbitration and Mediation Center of Armenia.

More than 40 contenders had submitted applications for participation, and 22 of them were given the opportunity to attend the course that consisted of 33 academic hours and was drafted by the international expert-mediators from the Council of Europe. In order to make the course more comprehensive and helpful, the invited international and national experts and judges shared their valuable experience in the mediation sector and their comments on the new legislative regulations.

The participants who successfully completed the course were awarded certificates of completion by Director of the "Legislation Development Centre" Foundation of the Ministry of Justice Tigran Dadunts, National Coordinator of the Council of Europe Project "Support to the Implementation of Judicial Reform in Armenia" Arman Zrvandyan, Human Rights, Justice and Rule of Law Programme Manager at United Nations Development Programme Maria Silvanyan and Director of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of Armenia Tatevik Matinyan.

Tigran Dadunts expressed gratitude to the colleagues for helping to organise this important training, noting that the interest in mediation is unprecedented, which goes to show that the launch of the reforms can be considered as a success. Tigran Dadunts also emphasised that the Ministry of Justice is making great efforts and investing major resources for advancement of the sector in order to make mediation one of the most effective methods of dispute resolution, in line with the international best practice and standards.

The participants who successfully completed the five-day intensive course will have the opportunity to take a qualification test and, if they pass, the community of mediators in Armenia will be replenished by new specialists.