Mediation is an alternative way of assisting disputing parties by a mediator, the aim of which is to reach an agreement between the disputing parties and settle the relationship between them by mutual consent. Currently, mediation is a voluntary procedure for out-of-court settling of disputes. However, as of July 1st , 2024, in cases defined by law, the courts will oblige the parties to several types of pending lawsuits, to participate in a first meeting in a mediation procedure. In the other twelve cases defined by law, it will be within the discretion of the court to consider whether to oblige the parties to participate in a mediation procedure. Of course, the law provides exceptions to the mandatory or possible participation of the parties in the first meeting in a mediation procedure. What are the legal hypotheses of mandatory mediation and how they will affect the people, you can find in the exposition of this article.
1. Compulsory mediation assigned by the court when a claim is filed or a request is made to the court for:
- allocation of the use of jointly owned property;
- monetary claims arising from co-ownership;
- partition – in the proceedings for carrying out the partition;
- fulfillment of obligations of the owners, users or residents of independent objects in a building in condominium regime;
- reimbursement of costs, incurred by an individual owner, for the repair of common parts of the building by the remaining owners, in the event that these costs are not reimbursed;
- annulment of an illegal decision of the general meeting or an illegal act of the management board (manager) of the condominium;
- payment of the value of a company share upon termination of participation in a limited liability company;
- liability of a manager or controller of a limited liability company for damages caused to the company.
2. The court may oblige the parties to participate in a mediation procedure when a claim is made, or a request is made to the court for:
- divorce due to dissolved matrimony;
- resolution of disputes regarding the exercise of parental rights, the place of residence of the child, personal relations with the child and its financial support;
- amendment of the measures related to the exercise of parental rights, the place of residence of the child, the personal relations with the child and his financial support in cases of divorce;
- resolution of disagreements regarding the exercise of parental rights and obligations;
- determination of measures for personal relations of a child with their grandparents;
- financial support;
- monetary or non-monetary claim arising from a contract, unilateral transaction, tort, unjust enrichment or carrying out another’s business without a power of attorney with a claim cost of up to BGN 25 000;
- existence, termination, invalidation or annulment of a contract or an unilateral transaction or for the conclusion of a final contract with a claim price of up to BGN 25 000;
- ownership and other real rights on property or for violated possession;
- remunerations or benefits arising from employment relationships, as well as to recognize the dismissal as illegal and its cancellation and to restore the previous job;
- protection of membership rights in a commercial company;
- cancel a decision of the general meeting of the company when it contradicts the mandatory provisions of the law or the articles of the founding agreement/statute of the company;
- cancel decisions or actions of the cooperation’s bodies that contradict the law or the statute;
- exercising judicial control over the decisions of the general meeting of non-profit legal entities regarding their legality and compliance with the statute;
- protection of intellectual property rights.
