REGULATION OF PUBLIC MEDIATION
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
Order in Council N. 237/2010
of April 29
Regulation of Recognition of Courses of the Mediation of Conflicts for the purpose of Candidacy to the
Rendering services of Public Mediation
1. Article
Object and purpose
This Regulation defines the applicable procedure and regimen to the official recognition of courses of mediation of conflicts for the purpose of candidacy to the rendering of services of public mediation.
2. º Article
Typology of courses
1 - For the purposes of the present Regulation, may be recognized by the Ministry of Justice, the following courses:
a) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the scope of the Courts of Peace;
b) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the scope of the System of Familiar Mediation;
c) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the scope of the System of Labour Mediation;
d) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the scope of the System of Criminal Mediation;
e) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the centres of arbitration of consumer conflicts supported by the Ministry of Justice;
f) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the centres of arbitration in the scope of the industrial property, domain names, firms and denominations supported by the Ministry of Justice;
g) Training course of mediators of conflicts to qualify for the rendering of services of public mediation in the centres of administrative arbitration supported by the Ministry of Justice.
2 - They can still be recognized training courses to enable conflict mediators to provide mediation services in other arbitration centres supported by the Ministry of Justice, under the general terms of the present Regulation and paragraph 2 of Article 5. º
3. º Article
Formalization of the request
1 - The entity interested in obtaining the recognition of the courses referred in the preceding article shall submit an application to the Minister of Justice on electronic application available at the website of the Cabinet for the Alternative Resolution of Disputes (GRAL) - www.gral.mj.gov.pt, with a minimum advance of 90 days given the start date of the accomplishment of the courses.
2 - The application referred to in previous number is signed electronically, with respect for the requirements of reliability and security of the qualified electronic signature, having to be instructed with the following elements in digital support:
a) A certificate proving registration in the National Register of Collective Persons of the applicant entity;
b) Taxpayer Identification Number of the applicant entity;
c) Certificate of no tax debts of the entity applicant;
d) A certificate of no debt to social security of the applicant entity;
e) History of the activity developed by the requesting entity in the five years preceding the date of application, with indication of the initial training given in the diverse areas and the continuous training, both theoretical and practical, made available to the mediators of conflicts;
f) Identification of the person responsible for coordinating the course and its curriculum, signed and dated;
g) Identification of the person who presents the request;
h) Curriculum, dated and signed, of the all the trainers of the course;
i) Name, purpose, duration, chronogram, place and installations foreseen for the accomplishment of the course;
j) Description of the syllabus with the indication of the respective methodology, the distribution of training hours for theoretical and practical components, identification of the affectation of the trainers to the syllabus and bibliography adopted;
l) The objectives to be achieved in each module;
m) Criteria of selection of the trainees and reference to the minimum and maximum number of candidates for the realization of training;
n) Criteria of evaluation and certification of trainees; and,
o) Human resources available for development and monitoring of the course.
3 – The requests can also be formalized by post, by means of registered post with acknowledgment of receipt, on request addressed to the Minister of Justice, through model available at the website of GRAL.
4 - When the applications are formalized in the terms of paragraph 1 the elements listed in the paragraph 2 may be remitted in the manner provided in the preceding paragraph.
5 - For the inherent expenses to the instruction of the recognition process of each course the applicant entity must, in the 10 subsequent days to the submission of the candidacy, to proceed to the deposit in favour of the GRAL, of the corresponding value for a fee payable by a trainee for the frequency of the course, under penalty of the not acceptance of the candidacy.
4. º Article
General Conditions
1 - The applicant entity shall, at the date of the application, to fulfil, namely, the following conditions:
a) To be legally constituted;
b) To possess the situation regularized face to the fiscal administration and social security;
c) To develop activity in the area of the subject of the course to be taught, even in non-exclusive way;
d) To appoint a person responsible for the coordination of the course that assumes this function until its conclusion.
2 – The request for recognition of the courses is formulated for a single academic period.
3 - All the courses to be recognized must fulfil, cumulatively, the following conditions:
a) Minimum number of 40 hours of training for the set of thematic areas of general character relating to the alternative resolution of disputes, with special focus on the negotiation, the conciliation, the mediation, the arbitration and the Courts of Peace, including, in particular, their development and appearance in Portugal, advantages and disadvantages to them recognized and the link between the alternative resolution of disputes and the judicial system;
b) Minimum number of 140 hours of training in the area of specialisation of the course, for the acquisition of specific theoretical knowledge to the area, particularly on the conflict, the communication, the principles, the models and the stages of the mediation process, the techniques of mediation, the ethical and deontological aspects and still on the practice of mediation, which must be filled in their half for exercises that allow the training of skills to be acquired for the performance of the activity;
c) Plan of placements, which includes the mandatory
the completion of two full mediations, with or without agreement, under the supervision of a mediator with experience in area of specialisation, and the presentation by the trainee, of a descriptive report of the accomplish work, with reference to the knowledge, attitudes and techniques used in each mediation session;
d) Duration of the courses not less than three months nor more than one year;
e) Composition of the teaching staff by, at least three trainers holders of academic degrees of master or doctor, with an area of specialization appropriate to the subject to be taught and, yet, by, at least three mediators with minimum experience of one year in the systems of public mediation or in arbitration centres supported by the Ministry of Justice, according to the areas of speciality of the courses and adjusted scientific preparation;
f) Description of the evaluation parameters;
g) Delivery of certificate of successful completion with the final note express up to 20 values or delivery attendance certificate to the trainee, depending on whether or not completing the course successfully;
h) The list of the approved trainees and respective municipalities of residence and final note, express on a scale up to 20 values, are reported to GRAL until 30 days after the end of the course.
4 - To determine the minimum of hours required for each course that allow the delivery of certificate of successful completion of the course and of aptitude to the exercise of the functions of conflicts mediator are added the hourly loads referred in the paragraphs a) and b) of the previous number.
5 - They are exempt to attend the modules mentioned in paragraph a) of number 1 the mediators of conflicts that have already taken a course of mediation of conflicts recognized by the Ministry of Justice and who wish to frequent another course of different typology.
6 - Annually the GRAL accepts candidacies for placements in the systems of public mediation, duration, number of places available and other conditions are fixed by dispatch of the Director of GRAL.
5. º Article
Special conditions
1 - The requirements referred to in subparagraph b) of number 2 of the Article 4. obeys to the following:
a) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the candidacy to the rendering of mediation services under the Courts of Peace integrates obligatory the matters covered by the law applicable to the Courts of Peace, namely the set of legal requirements necessary for the formation of a process in the Courts of Peace and the delimitation of its substantive material competence, particularly in the domain of the law of obligations, the property law and urban lease;
b) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services in the ambit of the public service of family mediation integrates obligatory family mediation matters of family law, juvenile law, in the areas of educational and tutelary protection and tutelary civil, the domestic violence and equality of kind, of the family psychology and sociology, the exercise of parenting, the involvement of children in family mediation and applicable legislation on family mediation;
c) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services in the ambit of public service of labour mediation integrates obligatory the areas of labour law, culture of work organizations, and also, the legislation applicable to the labour mediation;
d) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services in the ambit of public service of criminal mediation necessarily integrates the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, penitentiary law, of criminology, of victimology and of social reintegration;
e) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services at the centres of arbitration of consumer conflicts supported by the Ministry of Justice necessarily incorporates the juridical matters of specialization in area of specialisation of the consume law;
f) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services at the Centres for arbitration of conflicts in the area of industrial property, domain names, firms and designations supported by the Ministry of Justice obligatory integrates the legal matters of specialization in industrial property, domain names, names and designations;
g) The plan of training courses for mediators of conflicts to enable to the rendering of mediation services at the Centres for arbitration of conflicts in the area of administrative law supported by the Ministry of Justice obligatory integrates the legal matters of law and administrative procedure and the legal regimen of employment contract in public functions.
2 - The requirements referred to in the subparagraph b) of number 2 of Article 4. º when refer to the plan of training courses for mediator of conflicts to enable the rendering of mediation services in other centres of arbitration of conflicts supported by the Ministry of Justice integrate the matters defined for dispatch of the Director of GRAL.
6. º Article
Formalization of recognition
1 – Presented the application under the Article 4. belongs to the GRAL proceeding, within 30 days counted from the date of payment by the entity requesting of the amount due pursuant to paragraph 3 of the Article 3., to the instruction of the process of recognition, issue the respective opinion and sending the proposal of final decision to the Minister of Justice.
2 - The term foreseen in the previous number shall be suspended in the cases where the candidacy is presented incomplete or if it shows necessary that the entity requesting join to the process additional documents.
3 - The recognition is performed by dispatch of the Minister of Justice.
7. º Article
Criteria for recognition
1 - The assessment of the applications formulated complies with the following aspects:
a) Idoneousness of the applicant entity;
b) History of the activity developed by the applicant entity;
c) Curriculum of trainers;
d) Methodology, programmatic contents and duration of the course;
e) Curricular structure and syllabus of the course;
f) Distribution of hourly loads;
g) Training Program;
h) Pedagogical techniques;
i) Maximum number of learners to be admitted in each course;
l) Method of selecting candidates to be admitted in the course;
m) Criteria of evaluation and approval of the learners;
n) Method of certification of the learners;
o) Human resources made available for the development and monitoring of the course;
p) Physical resources made available for the accomplishment of the course.
2 - The decision to reject the application for recognition of any course is always express and preceded of prior hearing written of the applicant entity, with the indication of their respective pleas, to be held at the end of the instruction of the process by the GRAL.
8. º Article
Monitoring and surveillance
1 - Obtained the recognition of the course, is obligation of the applicant entity to ensure its full implementation, in terms, conditions and deadline contained in their respective candidacy.
2 – The nonfulfilment by the entities requesting of the terms on which it was authorized to carry out mediation courses can conditioning the qualification of their learners to the rendering services of public mediation, as well as the recognition of future courses. Competes to the GRAL monitoring and the surveillance of the achievement of conflict mediation courses recognized by the Ministry of Justice, being able, for that purpose, carry out the measures it deems appropriate, namely requesting information from entities applicants, conducting visits and refer satisfaction surveys on courses provided to the learners.
