사법정의접근권 보장을 위한 분쟁해결절차 개선 - 조정제도 활성화의 관점에서 -

Diversity, which has become the core value of this society, demands the dispute resolution procedure that values party autonomy or the right of self-determination of parties. Rather than the rigid procedure that applies the law without considering parties’ interests, mediation is expected to promote Access to Justice, in that mediation is the negotiated process where the third party assists disputing parties in resolving their disputes, providing creative and flexible resolution. Access to Justice is the essential factor to achieve the rule of law by promoting the effective dispute resolution for ordinary citizens. This article presumes that Access to Justice would be achieved by promoting diversity in the dispute resolution system, which is expected to be achieved by the promotion of mediation. This article will explore the mediation for civil and commercial matters, including judicial mediation or court-connected mediation, of the United States, Singapore, Japan, and Finland. The comparative study implies that the party autonomy or the right of self-determination shall be protected by the legislation: The act regulating the mediation proceedings for its procedural fairness or the act indicating the procedure to enforce the mediated settlement agreement can be commonly found in those countries. For the promotion of mediation, we need the legislative action in the area of mediation to preserve its nature of democratic procedure providing the right to self-determination.