Although our court is the most humane court in the world, as one well-known character said, there are still quite a few people who like to be a participant in the trial outside of their duty. The court implies a stressful situation, and unpleasant publicity, and often significant material costs, and the fate of the participants in the process is no longer in their hands, but depends on a third party - the judge.
Instructions
Step 1
The task of the court is to resolve the conflict that has arisen, so if getting involved in the litigation is not in your plans, you will have to make efforts to smooth out the existing contradictions without bringing the case to court. There are several possibilities for this. In civil law relations, it is practiced to introduce into the text of the contract a clause that, before going to court, the parties undertake to try to resolve the dispute arising from the contractual relationship in a pre-trial manner. In practice, this can be done in the form of a claim sent by the "offended" party to its partner under the agreement, as well as in the form of business correspondence or oral negotiations between counterparties. The clause on the pre-trial procedure for resolving disputes, included in the text of the agreement, becomes binding on the parties.
Step 2
In recent years, such a form of alternative dispute resolution as mediation has become more widespread. Mediation is especially relevant in cases where relations between the parties are tense on a personal level and it is almost impossible for them to enter into productive negotiations without an intermediary. The mediator who mediates is called the “mediator”. Its function is to understand the position of each of the parties and help the parties to look at the dispute through the eyes of each other. The mediator also creates conditions for partner negotiations, helps the parties to generate new alternative ways to resolve the dispute, provides them with the necessary information and helps the parties to develop a final agreement. Mediation of a mediator is acceptable in civil law, family law (for example, in divorce) and even in criminal law relationships. A suspect or accused of committing a crime of small or medium gravity, if he has committed a crime for the first time, may be released from criminal liability in connection with reconciliation with the victim (Articles 76 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and 25 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation), including before the case is sent to court. These articles of legislation determine only the consequences of the fact of reconciliation, but say nothing about the regulation of its course, which allows in such cases, proceeding from the principle “everything that is not prohibited”, to resort to the services of a mediator. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that mediation is widespread in Russia at present.
Step 3
For citizens, entrepreneurs and legal entities in civil relations, an arbitration court can be a good alternative to a state court. Having applied to the arbitration court, the parties can choose a judge, whose experience and qualifications they trust, the parties are guaranteed protection of their interests, including commercial secrets; the arbitration process is less formal, and its decisions are not subject to publication without the consent of the parties. Thus, there are ways to minimize the risk of litigation, but as you can see, this requires the goodwill of the parties to come to a mutually beneficial compromise.
