Sayyora and Masud were a Tashkent couple undergoing a difficult divorce. Money, assets and real estate were at stake, but these concerns were second to their worries about how their children would cope with the divorce process. Going to court might have had painful repercussions for their family. 

Instead, they brought in professional mediator Sevara Maripova to negotiate their settlement. 

With years of legal experience and a ‘peacemaker’ personality, Ms. Maripova has a knack for ensuring both sides of an argument are satisfied with the outcome. “Most mediators deal with heated conflicts, helping people resolve their concerns while staying neutral and emotionally uninvolved,” she said.

“Given the variety of cases we tackle, us mediators train ourselves to work with children, people with disabilities, and vulnerable people. We offer less-painful means of resolving conflicts without requiring formal judicial processes.”

Filling the last gaps in access to justice

Being a mediator is like performing legal ‘hashar’, an Uzbek tradition wherein people work as volunteers within their communities. 

While Sevara has trained to be a professional mediator, with particular knowledge of divorce law, anyone older than 25 and with no police record can officially mediate a conflict. Regardless of their background, a mediator’s most important skill is being able to resolve arguments from a neutral standing, reaching outcomes that benefit all involved, while keeping confidential and independent.

Mediators bridge a remaining gap in achieving justice for all in Uzbekistan. Today the electronic justice systemspeeds judicial process, free legal clinics eliminate financial barriers to justice, and the COVID-19 pandemic has sped up development of digital modes for accessing legal help. All the while, mediators can resolve personal conflicts with legal certainty while preventing pain and stress for those involved. 

“Individuals and legal entities seek mediator services to resolve civil and business law conflicts, when both parties want to avoid ‘bad blood’ and stay in contact,” said Mr. Eldor Mahkamov, head of the Department on Judicial Education and Court Expertise of the Ministry of Justice. 

“Mediators mostly handle family cases related to divorce, child custody and property division, but they also assist in business cases including contract termination or amendment, loan agreements, purchase and sale leases, customer rights, and other such matters.”

Mediation practices in Uzbekistan are rooted in legislation and supported by the Ministry of Justice, an arrangement which the ‘Rule of Law Partnership in Uzbekistan’ project of UNDP, USAID and the Supreme Court has been instrumental in setting up. Three mediators’ associations currently operate in the country. While there are limits to what mediators can do, such as not being able to perform state functions with the exception of being notaries, their services are diverse and applicable to many situations.

How to make mediation an appealing option                                                          

Building the popularity of mediators as a means of resolving conflict has been a gradual process. Mediation has been established in Uzbekistan since the start of 2019, but the public’s use of mediators has not substantially increased since then, even when court review of cases slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While Uzbekistan’s judiciary has been reformed to make it more of a public service, it is still harder to change the way people generally think about legal assistance,” Mr. Mahkamov explains. “Their first instinct is still to personally submit problems to courts, which they think is the only way of resolving conflicts.” 

People could be made aware of the mediation option through advertising, social media and traditional media, perhaps with stories of instances where legal problems have been resolved through mediation. There is also the possibility that stories of working with mediators will be shared through word of mouth. 

Getting people to not just use mediation services, but also become mediators themselves, might be achieved by appealing to the sense of interconnectedness within Uzbekistan’s culture. 

“Uzbekistan’s unique ‘Hashar’ practice, or community volunteering, is born from close bonds between family, friends and neighbours, and our need to help each-other. Mediating done professionally or just by someone considered a natural negotiator, can be part of that tradition,” Mr. Mahkamov adds. 

“It takes responsibility to be a mediator, especially keeping case facts private in closely-connected communities, but personal satisfaction from the job can be immense.” 

Win-Win Outcomes

By applying her expertise, Sevara Maripova helped Sayyora and Masud reach a conclusion for their case which was agreeable to both of them and their children. 

She held group meetings after talking with both parties separately, and negotiated a divorce agreement without lawyers getting involved. It was decided that Sayyora would possess two of the couple’s three properties and one of their two businesses, while receiving the equivalent of $2,500 in alimony.

Meanwhile Masud retained the rest of their considerable assets and real estate, and unrestricted access to their children.

“This was a difficult case with hurt feelings involved, but I got us to a place where no one felt they were the ‘loser’,”Ms. Maripova said. “If it works out this way, that’s when I really love my job.”

(Sayyora and Masud’s names have been changed to protect their privacy)