When a State Is a Party to a Dispute – (Court-)Administrative Mediation in Poland and in Ukraine (A Comparative Perspective)

Ukraine’s status as a candidate country for the European Union membership reinforces the need for comparative analysis between Ukrainian regulations and the laws of other EU Member States, as well as European regulations. One of the fields of comparative law is the development of mediation as a legal institution, also in cases when the state is involved – for disputes covered by administrative law. This has already been a subject of interest and promotion of both the EU and the Council of Europe, as European standards of democracy provide for the state’s cooperation with citizens/individuals. The aim of this article is – firstly – to compare the current development of mediation in administrative and court-administrative cases in Poland and in Ukraine, the similarities in successes and challenges, and – secondly – to determine to what extent both countries follow the latest CEPEJ guidelines. Although the state of research and literature on this subject is advanced in Poland and slightly less satisfactory in Ukraine, a comparative overview of this type of mediation regulations can be considered a novum. As for methodology, the paper is dominated by the logical-linguistic method, although some conclusions were drawn on the basis of both statistics and participant observation, i.e. the authors’ own mediation practice. So far – although both legal systems are quite compatible with the CEPEJ guidelines examined and provide for inter-branch solutions – in both countries in question, the development of administrative and court-administrative mediation is not a “success story.” A contrario: it can be classified as developing in the least resilient manner. To some extent, Poland and Ukraine show similarities and correlations in terms of successes and challenges, as well as social and mental barriers to mediation development.