Revista da EMERJ - V. 20 - N. 2 - Maio/Agosto - 2018

 R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 20, n. 2, p. 73 - 115, Maio/Agosto 2018 74 A few months ago a friend mediator from Cyprus sent me an e-mail proposing to set up a group of mediators, present in different countries, for an exchange of information on ADRs in their own nation. Another mediator, from Israel, was preparing a draft, and asked the four questions mentioned in the title. In December 2017 answers have been received, 16 from Eu- ropean countries, 5 from Asian countries, 1 from Egypt and 1 from Canada. Legislators are interested in the instrument, but the solutions adopted are very different from place to place. Understandable, ha- ving regard to the historical, economic and social differences of indi- vidual nations; but some common elements emerge. Let’s start from the basic element for any activity, knowledge. In other words, training. Some countries require a minimum of 40/50 hours, Slovakia 200 hours; China does not have a common minimum programme. But, as pointed out by a Romanian mediator, if the “quan- tity” (the number of hours) is important, even more so is the “quality” 2 . And only Italy processes statictistic data at national level, thanks to which some evaluations can be carried out 3 . There are also many differences in the requirements to become mediators. In some nations anyone can carry out this activity, but usually an academic degree is required (often in any subject). Turkey also requires a minimum of 5 years of legal practice. In some coun- tries there is a distinction between professional and non-professional mediators, which suggests that in some places there is a tradition in the matter. Few countries have a national organization, that represents all mediators. A positive outcome, because mediation is a flexible pro- cedure, which must not be “caged” by a single professional associa- tion. Provided that a third party controls compliance with the rules and, possibly, quality. “ On the other hand, a national organization taking for example the form of a federation where existing mediation associations as well as all mediators, on an individual basis can be a member (like the Federação Nacional de Mediadores de Conflitos in Portugal) could defend 2 Pădeanu Marin, “ Evolution and involution of mediation in Romania ”, 2017 https://www.academia.edu/34089971/The_evolution_and_involution_of_mediation_in_Romania 3 Matteucci Giovanni, “ Civil mediation, ho to kick-start it: the Italian Experience. The relevance of training ”, 2017 https://www.academia.edu/35125411/ADR_Matteucci_2017.10.30_Civil_mediation_how_to_kick-start_it_the_Ita- lian_experience._The_relevance_of_training