The establishment of the National Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution was one of a number of factors which contributed to the development of mediation in Israel.
In 1992, Amendment No. 15 of the Courts Act (Consolidated Version), 1984 was enacted. The Amendment provides that a court judging a civil matter may, with the agreement of the parties, refer the matter to arbitration or to mediation or may judge by means of a compromise. It was via this Amendment that the mediation process first entered the gates of the courts in Israel. However, until about five years ago mediation remained mainly in the law books. In recent years the field of mediation and conflict resolution has began to gain momentum both within the courts and outside of them.
Within the courts, case management pilot programs were developed, following which Case Management Departments (Manat) were established. The Manat was intended to improve the efficiency of the courts by dealing with cases at an early stage, before they reached the judge, referring some of the cases directly to mediation. Further, in many of the courts the function of the case management judge was established, who held a preliminary session with the parties in which he reviewed the possibility of resolving the conflict by means of agreement and considered whether mediation was appropriate. In addition, in 1988 the Advisory Committee for Mediation in the Courts published a report relating to the abilities and experience required of a mediator in order to be included in the court’s roster of mediators, and its recommendations have been enacted as Regulations.
In 1998 the National Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution was established within the Ministry of Justice. The Center works towards developing the knowledge in the field of mediation and conflict resolution, initiating and developing programs for training mediators, including the practical training course in mediation (Practicum), and integrating mediation in private and public bodies.
Parallel to these developments, the number of mediators and private and community organizations providing mediation services has grown. The number of private bodies offering mediation training courses and advanced courses in specialized fields such as family mediation is increasing. Whilst these activities have increased the number of mediators in the field, the demand for mediation amongst private and public entities and the general public has hardly risen. The National Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution works towards narrowing this difference by means of the continued development of knowledge and programs for improving mediation skills, as well as increasing the demand for mediation and ADR amongst organizations and the general public.