Perception of Mediation and Online Mediation by Trainee Attorney-at-Law at the Lublin Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law

Abstract

The phenomenon of popularisation of alternative methods of conflict resolution is widespread in Poland, both at the state and self-government levels. Combining the interdisciplinary achievements of practice and doctrine, numerous projects and programmes are being developed to encourage parties and professional lawyers to use mediation in the process of dispute resolution. However, on the basis of statistical data showing the use of judicial mediation in cases where it could have been used at a level of 1.6%, it should be concluded that there is still a long way to go before mediation becomes a ‘fully-fledged’ method of conflict resolution, constituting a viable alternative to the traditional adjudicative method of dispute resolution. The purpose of the article is to present the results of empirical research conducted by the authors within the framework of scientific activities related to the implementation of the assumptions of the Academic Mediation Centre operating at the Institute of Legal Sciences of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin). The article consists of three parts. The first one presents the subject, scope and objectives of the research, as well as the research hypotheses and methodological details. The second part presents the results of the empirical research conducted and the partial conclusions. The last part is a summary of the conclusions of the research carried out.