MEDIATIONIN THE PAST- PRESENT-FUTURE will be assisted by a representative of a consumer organisation and a representative of the particular branch of industry concerned. Overall, these comm ittees practise the method of bindend advies(binding advice), considered attractive because of the informa lity of the proces In the 1970s and 1980s, Dutch citizens became increasingly dissatisfied with the operation of the law due to inaccessibility of the courts, overcrowded dockets, increased formalism, long denys and high costs. 0 These factors were strong incentives to consider other modes of dispute resolution. In addition, it was felt that courts were often not well equipped to address the nucleus of the problem, and really solve the dispute submitted. Only a handful of academ ics and practising la wyers sought inspiration in the moden mediation techniques in the US. An early advocate of mediation was the Rotterdam professor of family law, Peter Hoefnagel who combines the practice and academic study of mediation since 1974. 1 All these examples may have created a fertile soil for the upcom ing modern As indicated, the rise of modern mediation began in the US, where schemes emerged in a variety of areas in the late 1970s. The American enthusasm for professional, institutionalised mediation spread to Europe, in the ate 1980s and ea rly 1990s. In the Netherlands, initially, it were particulrly representatives of the private sector that became interested and involved in ADR, inspired by Us and UK developments. 12 Private initiative 1992 is an mportant year in the recent history of modem Dutch mediation For the first time a group of people, mainly legal professionals, came together to discuss the promise and prospects of mediation. Some of these early fighters for mediation basing themselves on their personal and professional experiences, had become dissatisfied with the outcomes of legal solutions, often ignoring the particular needs From the very beginning contact was sought with the government, which resulted in a lively exchange of ideas and views. The governmental participation would appear to be mainly directed at initiating and financingexperiments In 1993 the Nederlands Mediation Instituut(Netherlands Mediation Institute) NMI was formally established as a foundation, with the main purpose of informing the people at arge about mediation and stimulating and furthering the practise and quality of mediation In the early stage of its fomation, NMI was inspired by the American Centerfor Public Resources and the British Centre for Dispute Resolution. The pioneers of Bruinsma F& Welbergen R Hoge Raad nm Oderen(tjeenk willink, Deventer 1988; 2nd edition 1999); Brenninkmeier A F M Burgerljk prpcesrecht als publiekrecht (Tjeenk Willink, Deventer 1993). In these publications the excesses of Dutch court proceedings werehighlighted. The findings are rather shocking Hoefnagels G P Handboek scheidingsbemiddeling(Tjeenk Willink, Deventer, 2000). 12. Jagtenberg r& De Roo A The New Mediation: Flower of the East n a Harvard Bouquet (200 1)Asia Pacifica Rewiew Vol 9 No 1, pp 63-82.MEDIATION IN THE PAST - PRESENT - FUTURE 3 will be assisted by a representative of a consumer organisation and a representative of the particular branch of industry concerned. Overall, these committees practise the method of bindend advies (binding advice), considered attractive because of the informality of the process. In the 1970s and 1980s, Dutch citizens became increasingly dissatisfied with the operation of the law due to inaccessibility of the courts, overcrowded dockets, increased formalism, long delays and high costs. 10 These factors were strong incentives to consider other modes of dispute resolution. In addition, it was felt that courts were often not well equipped to address the nucleus of the problem, and to really solve the dispute submitted. Only a handful of academics and practising lawyers sought inspiration in the modern mediation techniques in the US. An early advocate of mediation was the Rotterdam professor of family law, Peter Hoefnagels, who combines the practice and academic study of mediation since 1974.11 All these examples may have created a fertile soil for the upcoming modern mediation. As indicated, the rise of modern mediation began in the US, where schemes emerged in a variety of areas in the late 1970s. The American enthusiasm for professional, institutionalised mediation spread to Europe, in the late 1980s and ea rly 1990s. In the Netherlands, initially, it were particularly representatives of the private sector that became interested and involved in ADR, inspired by US and UK developments.12 2 Private initiative 1992 is an important year in the recent history of modern Dutch mediation. For the first time a group of people, mainly legal professionals, came together to discuss the promise and prospects of mediation. Some of these early fighters for mediation, basing themselves on their personal and professional experiences, had become dissatisfied with the outcomes of legal solutions, often ignoring the particular needs of parties. From the very beginning contact was sought with the government, which resulted in a lively exchange of ideas and views. The governmental participation would appear to be mainly directed at initiating and financing experiments. In 1993 the Nederlands Mediation Instituut (Netherlands Mediation Institute) NMI was formally established as a foundation, with the main purpose of informing the people at large about mediation and stimulating and furthering the practise and quality of mediation. In the early stage of its formation, NMI was inspired by the American Center for Public Resources and the British Centre for Dispute Resolution. The pioneers of 10. Bruinsma F & Welbergen R Hoge Raad van Onderen (Tjeenk Willink, Deventer 1988; 2nd edition 1999); Brenninkmeijer A F M Burgerlijk procesrecht als publiekrecht (Tjeenk Willink, Deventer 1993). In these publications the excesses of Dutch court proceedings were highlighted. The findings are rather shocking. 11. Hoefnagels G P Handboek scheidingsbemiddeling (Tjeenk Willink, Deventer, 2000). 12. Jagtenberg R & De Roo A The New Mediation: Flower of the East in a Harvard Bouquet (2001) Asia Pacific law Review Vol 9 No 1, pp 63-82