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Going directly to court to resolve a dispute can sometimes be scary and expensive. Can we favor an amicable appeal, and thus avoid a trial? What are the different possibilities?
Mediation:
Mediation is an amicable way of settling disputes that involves an external, independent, impartial, and neutral third party: the mediator. The mediator is trained specifically to help people in conflict to express themselves on this conflict, re-establish dialogue between them, and seek a satisfactory solution. It is the parties in conflict who find the final agreement that satisfies them. This agreement can be approved by a judge.
You can have recourse to mediation for any conflict: family disputes, disputes within a company, disputes between neighbors, etc. Mediation is a flexible, rapid and inexpensive method. It makes it possible to resolve most conflicts thanks to the intervention of the mediator.
Collaborative Law:
Today, there is a new amicable way of settling disputes that avoids recourse to justice: collaborative law, in which the parties in conflict and their lawyers work as a team during interviews and successive common agreements to arrive together at a fair and consensual solution. This agreement can be approved by a judge. Collaborative lawyers are specifically trained in collaborative law.
A prior agreement is signed by the participants in which the lawyers undertake to withdraw from the case if it does not end amicably and must continue through the legal process. Collaborative law is an effective, flexible, fast and inexpensive tool. It can be used for disputes that are usually of a nature to be brought before a judge.
Participatory Procedure:
The participatory procedure is a new procedure that has been introduced into the Civil Code since a law of December 2010 and an implementing decree of January 2012. It is a question of favoring negotiation between all the stakeholders: the parties in dispute and their lawyers are invited to enter into talks to try to find an amicable agreement that would allow them to resolve the dispute. A prior agreement allows the parties and the lawyers to define the duration and terms of this procedure, which will be prior to any litigation if the agreement is not fully reached on the entire case.
There are three scenarios:
– if there is a complete agreement, it is submitted to the judge for approval;
– if the agreement is only partial, the judge can approve what has been agreed between the parties and rule on the rest;
– in case of total disagreement, the case is brought before the judge to be fully decided by him. The lawyers must remain in the file for the legal part if there remains a contentious element.
The participatory procedure can help resolve all disputes, with the exception of those relating to labor law.
DAMY law firm, NICE, Update 2022
