Abstract
The article examines, at the theoretical level, the self-governance of mediators, assessing the question of the sufficiency of its legal regulation. The aim of this article is to assess the legal and practical issues related to the self-governance of mediators, and the legal and/or organizational, administrational problems that may arise from this. The assessment was carried out by analysing three key aspects: providing an overview of the situation of mediators' self-governance in Lithuania, analysing the factors that may have a negative impact on the institution of mediators' self-governance, and identifying the legal basis for the functioning of mediators' self-governance representatives in joint entities, their sufficiency and factors for their development. The article reveals the concept of mediators ’ self-governance, examines the structure of self-governance, the relationship between the different organisations and their members, and the role they play in shaping mediation policy. For this reason, the article uses in parallel theoretical, legal and practical evaluative criteria, such as the structure of self-governance, the distribution of competences of the bodies of self-governance, as well as the practical activities of the mediators’ self-governance bodies/representatives (defined and/or implied) and their influence on the mediators. Furthermore, the article looks at the profession of mediation and the duality of its members’ membership in the mediators’ self-governance in relation to their other classical legal professions and the resulting membership of other self-governance bodies, which creates potential legal and practical problems. It draws conclusions on the sufficiency and effectiveness of the legal regulation and current practical functioning of the organisational system of mediators’ self-governance in Lithuania and on the status of the organisational framework of mediators’ self-governance.