Seminar on “Mediation in labour disputes”

Details

Published: April 21, 2021

On 14 April 2021, IRZ, together with the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, organised an online seminar on "Mediation in labour disputes". Mediation, as a method of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), makes an important contribution to relieving the judiciary and accelerating proceedings in Montenegro. Supporting Montenegro in this area is also part of the “Joint declaration on legal cooperation” between the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro and the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. The event was primarily aimed at certified mediators and those interested in the topic of "mediation".

The seminar was opened by Marina Lutovac, Director of the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Dr Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at IRZ.
The introductory lecture "Protecting employees in individual labour disputes" was given by Ivan Knežević, a member of staff at the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution and a specialist in labour disputes. He presented how labour law has developed since Montenegro's independence and as it prepares to join the EU.

The German speaker Martin Michaelis, a mediator and lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the field of alternative dispute resolution, focused on the essential elements of mediation in his presentation and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of mediation as a means of alternative dispute resolution. The IRZ expert also used German practices to explain the use of mediation in labour law. Lively discussions between the participants ensued straight after this lecture.

After a short break, Martin Michaelis divided the participants into small groups to discuss previously defined questions. The results of these discussions were then addressed in a plenary session and recorded on a virtual pinboard. The results showed that there is a requirement for further training for mediators in Montenegro and that mediation in Montenegro needs to gain more acceptance among the population.

The large number of participants, with around 70 people interested in mediation attending, as well as their exceptionally lively participation and numerous proposals from the small group discussions, underline the relevance of the topic for Montenegro.