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

13  R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 22, n. 1, p. 11 - 26, Janeiro-Março. 2020  siderable frame of time of its application provides us with a set of experiences and data that is solid enough to discuss the use and the application of such alternative procedure. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL REASONS TO PROMOTE (AND COMPEL) MEDIATION Before dealing with the most problematic aspects of the re- form, we argue that analysing the substantial arguments and the more practical reasons for the promotion of mediation, and of compulsory mediation in specific fields, can help understanding the rationale of the legislative act. One of the arguments for implementingmediation has to do with pacification purposes. Disputes in many of the mentioned matters under compulsory mediation (for example, landlord/ tenant disputes, condominium disputes, and division of goods) tend to arise among family members, neighbours, or people who are particularly close to each other for affective, geografical, or commercial reasons. In these cases, the issue of maintaining, or not worsening, the relationship between the parties cannot be ignored. The theory of Donald Black explains that “the relation- ship between law and relational distance is curvilinear” 3 . With the expression “relational distance”, he refers to the intensity of the bond between two individuals: at the extremes, we find, on the one side, close relatives, while, on the other, complete stran- gers. According to Black, the closer is the relationship between the parties, the less likely they are to find the solution of their dispute through the law and the judicial system; rather, they look for a more friendly and private settlement. This theory can be ap- plied also to lawyers: the more intimate is their relationship, the more they will look for an out-of-court solution between their clients. On the contrary, strangers are more eager to use legal tools to solve disputes. Consequently, clashes between close re- lationships find fertile ground in the extra-legal field. This consi- deration can be applied also to family and labour relationships, which, however, find no obligation of mediation in the Italian 3 Black, D. (1976). Morphology. In The Behavior of Law (pp. 37–62). NewYork and London:Academic Press, p. 41.