Samenvatting

The goal of this article is to examine key problems of training standards for mediators in Russia and to identify possible solutions that may address these issues. In considering the question of mediation training in the context of mediation development in Russia, one can distinguish two periods: (1) before the enactment of the Law on mediation, or the period of private initiatives, and (2) after this Law entered into force, which can be entitled as the period of governmental regulation.During the first period, there were no special legal regulations and thus, private institutions had been offering their own diverse and numerous mediation training programs. The situation has changed due to the active force of the Federal Law on mediation by implementing provisions that require creation of a special unified training program for professional mediators and approval by the Government of the Russian Federation. This program was adopted on 14 February 2011. The approach of the Russian legislature to the establishment of a consistent educational standard for Russian mediators can be considered as the implementation of the woldwide shift toward standards unification. However, the Law itself contains some contradictions, and also contains a number of provisions that cast serious doubts upon the success of this effort.