MEDIATIONIN THE PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE The conditions for NMi-certification however. are obscure. These 10 NMI certified programmes differ in length, costs, and contents, which makes the selection of the right programme by an interested applicant cumbersome. The average length is six days, while the costs may amount up to 3600 Euro. There is no hardcore contents, shared by all these schemes. This is not surprising. As yet, there are no rules or legislation lay ing down minimum requirements for the teaching of mediation. Basically, training institutions are free in selecting the topics to be taught. The majority, however, seems to pay attention to the Harvard style of negotation, generally considered to be a useful tool for the medator. This style of negotiation is oriented towards win-win solutions by cussing on mterests, instead of rights. This is what a medator is precisely supposed to do: directing the parties towards focussingon their interests Thus far, little thought seems to be given to legal aspects of the mediation practice. This may be regarded as an omission, certa nly now that mediation in many European countries will be practised within the presence of an established legal system. A clarification for this may partly lie in the back ground of the respective rainers: the majority is psychologist At universities, particularly at faculties of law, it were init ially individual staff members who undertook the teaching of mediation. In 1994, for the first time in the Netherlands an optional course (Altemative) Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice was on offerat the Rotterdam law faculty The ultimate goal of this course is to give the participating students an overall perspective on the emergence and resolution of disputes and the role of aw there in In addition, some practical tra ining is provided through role-plays and other practical exercises, which are supervised by qualified mediators At present, most aw faculties pay attention to mediation and other modes of dispute resolution. However, the format of mediation teaching varies from separate courses to integral parts of existing courses such as civil procedure law The regulatory frameworkfor mediation In Dutch law, there are no specific statutory provisions perta ining to mediation, and 1995 NMI Mediation Rules (as amended in 2000)thus fill a gap, providing standards formediators, disputants, andjudges Three basic principles have been written into the NMI Mediation Rules 2. the mediator must be independent and im partial; and 3. confidentia lity and secrecy are to be observed during and after the mediation, by These three basic tenets, voluntariness, im partia lity and confidentility, can also be found in the 1980 UNCITRAL Model Rules on Conciliation, arguably the world s Fisher R& Ury WGetting to Yes(Houghton Mifflin, 1981)and later editionsMEDIATION IN THE PAST - PRESENT - FUTURE 7 The conditions for NMI-certification, however, are obscure. These 10 NMI certified programmes differ in length, costs, and contents, which makes the selection of the right programme by an interested applicant cumbersome. The average length is six days, while the costs may amount up to 3600 Euro. There is no hardcore contents, shared by all these schemes. This is not surprising. As yet, there are no rules or legislation laying down minimum requirements for the teaching of mediation. Basically, training institutions are free in selecting the topics to be taught. The majority, however, seems to pay attention to the Harvard style of negotiation, generally considered to be a useful tool for the mediator.22 This style of negotiation is oriented towards win-win solutions by focussing on interests, instead of rights. This is what a mediator is precisely supposed to do: directing the parties towards focussing on their interests. Thus far, little thought seems to be given to legal aspects of the mediation practice. This may be regarded as an omission, certainly now that mediation in many European countries will be practised within the presence of an established legal system. A clarification for this may partly lie in the background of the respective trainers: the majority is psychologist. At universities, particularly at faculties of law, it were initially individual staff members who undertook the teaching of mediation. In 1994, for the first time in the Netherlands an optional course (Alternative) Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice was on offer at the Rotterdam law faculty. The ultimate goal of this course is to give the participating students an overall perspective on the emergence and resolution of disputes and the role of law there in. In addition, some practical training is provided through role-plays and other practical exercises, which are supervised by qualified mediators. At present, most law faculties pay attention to mediation and other modes of dispute resolution. However, the format of mediation teaching varies from separate courses to integral parts of existing courses such as civil procedure law. 7 The regulatory framework for mediation In Dutch law, there are no specific statutory provisions pertaining to mediation, and only a few court decisions on the subject have been published so far. Therefore, the 1995 NMI Mediation Rules (as amended in 2000) thus fill a gap, providing standards for mediators, disputants, and judges. Three basic principles have been written into the NMI Mediation Rules: 1. mediation is based on the continuing voluntary consent of all parties; 2. the mediator must be independent and impartial; and 3. confidentiality and secrecy are to be observed during and after the mediation, by all parties concerned. These three basic tenets, voluntariness, impartiality and confidentiality, can also be found in the 1980 UNCITRAL Model Rules on Conciliation, arguably the world s 22. Fisher R & Ury W Getting to Yes(Houghton Mifflin, 1981) and later editions