Berlin backs mediation to keep civil suits out of court

One reason for mediation is to avoid court altogether

For many, compromise-focused mediation is a cheaper, quicker solution to civil lawsuits. With Germany's court system buckling at the knees, the Bundestag has voted to lend mediation more support.

The lower house of German parliament, the Bundestag, voted unanimously Thursday in favor of a new mediation law to implement a 2008 European Union guideline for the use of mediation in civil and commercial conflict. It gives new legal weight to mediation by creating a more defined role for mediators acting in tangent to a court proceeding.

"It means more security for the client and better legitimization for us,“ said Christoph Paul, former spokesman for the German Consortium for Family Mediation.

Mediation already accounts for some 20,000 cases that are resolved outside the German court system every year.

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