The Legal Situation of a Child in Mediation in Light of the Regulations of International Law

Abstract

In light of international law, children should be participants in family mediation. International law creates a basis for the extensive use of mediation in resolving conflicts to which children are party. These include not only family mediations, but also civil mediations and those that take place in connection with the use of educational measures, as a reaction to prohibited acts committed by children or in the event of conflicts in educational institutions in which children participate. The participation of children in mediation may take the form of direct participation in mediation sessions, but it may also take the form of various types of direct and indirect consultations in which the child expresses their opinion on the proposed decisions. Mediation enables children to obtain appropriate information on their legal and factual situation, adjusted to their cognitive resources. Mediation in which children participate is of considerable educational importance as a result of the fact that, in conditions of personal experience, children learn non-confrontational methods of resolving conflicts in social relations. The accession by a state to an international agreement, which within the scope of its regulation also covers the procedural rights of children or specific legal solutions applicable in mediation, means that the state is obliged to apply legislative solutions that will ensure the application of the standards provided for in these agreements with regard to the legal and factual situation of a child who is a party to mediation or in relation to a child whose interests are affected by mediation between other persons.