Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and in particular mediation, is well established in developed economies and becoming increasingly popular in transition countries. For any court system, mediation can substantially reduce caseload burdens, improve clearance rates, and raise efficiency in the administration of justice. In Kyrgyzstan, a country which relies heavily on remittances from men working abroad, commercial mediation could bring particular benefits to women, especially sole women-entrepreneurs, who are more vulnerable to contractual and financial disputes being resolved unjustly.
IDLO, in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is implementing a project that aims to promote and facilitate the use of commercial mediation on a national scale, with the goal of making its use a business norm in the Kyrgyz Republic. IDLO will prepare and deliver an intensive training of trainers on mediation to provide mediators with necessary skills to become successful business mediators. The project will support a mediation awareness-raising campaign with a focus on a wide range of potential users and stakeholders, including organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, banking associations, justice sector institutions, and small and medium entrepreneurs.