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  93 Is there a law that defines who can perform mediation? At a national level, we have the Mediation for Civil and Com- mercial Matters Act (Ley 5/2012, de 6 de julio, de mediación en asun- tos civiles y mercantiles) whose content has been further developed by “Royal Decree” in the corresponding Regulation (Real Decreto 980/2013, de 13 de diciembre, por el que se desarrollan determina- dos aspectos de la Ley). Also, there exist regional laws. For example, in the Region of Madrid, we have the Family Mediation Act (Ley 1/2007, de 21 de fe- brero, de Mediación Familiar de la Comunidad de Madrid). What kind of training program is required – how many hours and topics are taught? The Mediation for Civil and Commercial Matters Act establishes that mediators must have received the appropriate training, comprising: - mediation techniques - mediation procedure (with special emphasis on the procedural and the material limits to the use of mediation established by the law, the professional liability of the mediator, the rights of third parties). - ethics - the legal framework and the psychological aspects specific to the kind of mediation to be practiced - communication, negotiation and conflict resolution techniques Also, the above mentioned Regulation specifies that mediators must have received 100 hours of specific training, out of which at least 35 must have been practical (preferably supervised practice in real mediation sessions). In addition, mediators shall complete 20 hours of (mostly practical) training every 5 years. Do you have a national organization of mediators? We do not have a single national organization of mediators but a large variety of professional associations, registries and conflict resolution centers, such as AMERCO (the Association of Mediators and Conflict Resolution Experts), MediaICAM (the Conflict Resolution Center of the Madrid Bar Association of Lawyers) and the Madrid