Agreements in Court-Connected Mediation: What are They All About and Whose are They After All?

Abstract

This archival study examines 42 mediated agreements reached in court-connected mediation in Denmark from two different perspectives: an interests and needs perspective and a discourse perspective. The study suggests that, to some extent, the parties’ respective interests and needs are reflected in the agreements. The study further suggests that, with the high degree of jargon and legal language that they contain, the agreements are more expressions of the professionals who drafted them rather than the parties to the cases, possibly therefore jeopardizing some of the intentions of mediation.