Revista da EMERJ - V. 22 - N.1 - Janeiro/Março - 2020

11  R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 22, n. 1, p. 11 - 26, Janeiro-Março. 2020  Civil and Commercial Mediation in Italy: Lights and Shadows Luigi Cominelli Arianna Jacqmin ABSTRACT This article provides with a panoramic view over civil and commercial mediation in Italy, especially after the 2010 legisla- tive reform, and with a specific focus on the institution of com- pulsory mediation for specific matters. After having introduced some of the theoretical and practical reasons that led the action of the Italian legislator, this article deals with four problematic issues concerning the reform: the sensitization of legal professio- nals; the success rate of mediation; the economic and professio- nal structure of mediation providers; and the exclusion of family and labour matters from the reform. Finally, the 2017 confirma- tion of the discipline will be discussed. INTRODUCTION: THE ITALIAN MEDIATION REFORM In the last seven years, Italy has been an experimental field for the use of mediation in civil and commercial disputes. The incentive for such process was the Legislative Decree n. 28/2010, which took effect in March 2011. The act envisioned four types of mediation: the voluntary; the judicial; the statutory clause; and the preventative and mandatory one. The first can be freely sug- gested and implemented by the parties at any moment of the dispute. The second refers to the situation where the judge, even during the appeal, suggests the parties to make an attempt of