Mediation clearly constitutes a special social and psychological process which gives
pride of place to its human-centered character since the parties -always directed and
assisted by the mediator- are widely free to define their positions and interests
without – in principle - being restrained by a strict legal framework. This particular
freedom serves two things: On the one hand, the parties are given the opportunity to
freely define their strategy when participating in the mediation procedure. On the
other hand, the mediator is given the necessary space to develop their skills and adjust
to the relevant characteristics of both of the parties on a case by case basis, thus they
exercise a decisive influence over the parties and the dispute although they are not
allowed to grant any decision.
Τhe aim of this dissertation is to focus on the social rather than the strictly legal aspect
of mediation by especially analyzing firstly the mediator’s role and power as well as the
skills and tools that can be used during the whole procedure in order to help the
parties genuinely identify their interests and how to settle them and secondly the
parties’ experience of the whole process whether an agreement has been reached or
not. The significance and role of participants’ emotion will be highlighted since it is
considered as central to the dynamic of this learning process, which is called
mediation. In addition, special focus is about to be given to the use of each party’s
bargaining power at the table and other tricks of negotiation that could even be
considered as unethical yet effective in real-life practice. For those instruments that
are considered at variance with mediation, each and every mediator needs to know
how to cope with them effectively and tactfully: He or she needs to know how to
support the party against the trick that is being used and how to educate the parties
which are using it in a way that would neither make them feel uncomfortable, nor
discourage them from their initial intention to mediate. In any case, effective
mediation differs fundamentally from a litigation process since it is being conducted in
the context of an active involvement of all participants, thus enabling them at the
center of attention.
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