MEDIATIONIN THE PAST- PRESENT-FUTURE Ruiter, suggested in its final report that the courts should be left out altogether in cases where the spouses can agree on all major terms. In that case, it would suffice to have a lawyer or notary public reviewing the agreement, and to have the divorce certified and registered henceforth. 32 8.1.2 Organisations and specific models The vereniging van Advocaat-Scheidingsbemiddelaars ()(Association of Divorce Lawyers-mediators)was esta blished in 1989. VAS is essentially composed of la wyers speca lised in handling divorce cases, who have successfully completed a special mediation training course. In this course, psychological skills will be developed next to specific negotiation and legal skills. VAS mem bership implies compulsory permanent education and sharing experiences in divorce mediation with fellow mem bers. vaS has issued its own rules of professional conduct and a standard Agreement to Mediate. These are published on its website. 33 VAS mainta ins regular contacts with similar organisations abroad, such as the Academy of Family Mediators in the US. VAS currently has well over 300 members. Next to VAS, there are mediators practicing individually and independently in this area The VAS Rules of Professional Conduct conta in some interesting provisions The basic idea is that one VAS-lawyer will be engaged as a single meda tor by both parties. Rule I provides that nevertheless, the medator will not loose her rofessional status of lawyer. This Rule serves the interest of the parties: it extends the Rules of professional conduct of the netherlands bar assocation into the domain of mediation. Thus, a wyer-mediators are probably able to invoke the well established right to professional secrecy for lawyers. 34 In line with the Nmi and UNCITRAL Rules the vas Rules of professional Conduct also stipulate that once a mediation has been terminated, the lawyer-mediator will not be allowed to act as a lawyer for one of the parties. This hibition extends to the partners in the mediators law firm VAS Rule 6 prov ides that the medator must see to it that both parties are sufficiently aware of the legal consequences of the steps they might consider in their negotiations Model rules ha ve also been laid down at a European level, through the Council to/1th.recommendation No R(98)I on Family Mediation. The Preamble refers to[ ]the detrimental consequences of conflict(resulting from divorce) for families and the high socialand econom ic costs to States[]. The Preamble also refers to search into the use of mediation[ which show that the use of mediation has the potential to improve communication between members of the family [I and to provide continuity of personal contacts between parents and children Anders Scheiden Rapport van de Comm issie Herziening Schedingprocedure(Minsterie ran Justtie/SDU, Den Haag 1996) www.vas-scheidingsbemiddelingnl 34. However, on 5 February 2001, the Disciplinary Tribunal n Amsterdam held that a lawyer does ot exercise the profession of lawyer when she is acting as a mediator.MEDIATION IN THE PAST - PRESENT - FUTURE 11 Ruiter, suggested in its final report that the courts should be left out altogether in cases where the spouses can agree on all major terms. In that case, it would suffice to have a lawyer or notary public reviewing the agreement, and to have the divorce certified and registered henceforth.32 8.1.2 Organisations and specific models The Vereniging van Advocaat-Scheidingsbemiddelaars (VAS) (Association of Divorce Lawyers-mediators) was established in 1989. VAS is essentially composed of lawyers specialised in handling divorce cases, who have successfully completed a special mediation training course. In this course, psychological skills will be developed next to specific negotiation and legal skills. VAS membership implies compulsory permanent education and sharing experiences in divorce mediation with fellow members. VAS has issued its own Rules of Professional Conduct, and a standard Agreement to Mediate. These are published on its website. 33 VAS maintains regular contacts with similar organisations abroad, such as the Academy of Family Mediators in the US. VAS currently has well over 300 members. Next to VAS, there are mediators pra cticing individually and independently in this area. The VAS Rules of Professional Conduct contain some interesting provisions. The basic idea is that one VAS-lawyer will be engaged as a single mediator by both parties. Rule 1 provides that nevertheless, the mediator will not loose her professional status of lawyer. This Rule serves the interest of the parties: it extends the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Netherlands Bar Association into the domain of mediation. Thus, lawyer-mediators are probably able to invoke the well established right to professional secrecy for lawyers.34 In line with the NMI and UNCITRAL Rules, the VAS Rules of Professional Conduct also stipulate that once a mediation has been terminated, the lawyer-mediator will not be allowed to act as a lawyer for one of the parties. This prohibition extends to the partners in the mediators law firm. VAS Rule 6 provides that the mediator must see to it that both parties are sufficiently aware of the legal consequences of the steps they might consider in their negotiations. Model rules have also been laid down at a European level, through the Council of Europe Recommendation No R (98) 1 on Family Mediation. The Preamble refers to [ ] the detrimental consequences of conflict (resulting from divorce) for families and the high social and economic costs to States [ ] . The Preamble also refers to [ ] the results of research into the use of mediation [ ] which show that the use of mediation has the potential to improve communication between members of the family [ ] and to provide continuity of personal contacts between parents and children . 32. Anders Scheiden Rapport van de Commissie Herziening Scheidingsprocedure (Ministerie van Justitie/SDU, Den Haag, 1996). 33. www.vas-scheidingsbemiddeling.nl. 34. However, on 5 February 2001, the Disciplinary Tribunal in Amsterdam held that a lawyer does not exercise the profession of lawyer when she is acting as a mediator