Comparison of mediation systems in the construction industry of two European countries

Abstract

The construction process is multistage and usually involves different stakeholders. The stakeholders of this process pursue different goals and implement them by different means, which would predetermine various disputable situations. In case of resolving disputes in the court, it is necessary to prepare and provide a large number of documents and evidence. Those have to be prepared separately to each defendant depending on the type of dispute. Resolving construction disputes by such judicial way takes a substantial period of time and incurs substantial expenses. Large amounts of company resources and time are invested to dispute resolving processes that can be used in a business. Among the various dispute resolution methods, mediation has been increasingly gaining recognition and acceptance in construction. Unfortunately, in new European countries like Lithuania, the implementation of mediation still is on the initial stage. The study encompasses the nature of construction disputes, key features of mediation, analyzed main differences among court and mediation processes, pros and cons of mediation with special reference to the construction industry in Germany and Lithuania. Based on these results, recommendations to increase mediation in new European countries were elaborated. Finally, it was concluded that more education to construction professionals about mediation, more training of competent construction mediation, and incorporation of mediation clauses in construction contracts are strongly advocated.