The right to mediation as a social service: problems of implementation in territorial communities of Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the issues of implementing the right to mediation as a social service in the territorial communities of Ukraine. It is specified that the right to mediation was reflected in the law about twenty years ago and is associated with the development of social policy in Ukrainian society, oriented towards international and European standards.
 It is proved that the inconsistency of the legislator in the social services field has become one of the problems of exercising the right to mediation. From the very beginning, mediation was recognized as the second stage of the social service of intermediation (mediation) at the level of by-laws, and the State Standard was approved to ensure the sufficient provision of this service (State Standard of Social Service of Intermediation (Mediation), 2016). The Law of Ukraine, «On Social Services», adopted in 2019, recognized mediation and intermediation as two separate «basic» social services but did not make any changes that would lay the foundations for a state standard for mediation as an independent social service. As for the Classifier of Social Services approved in 2020, the list of social services provided only uses the term «intermediation» as the name of the social service. However, the term «mediation» is used to describe the place of provision of the social service «intermediation». Such legislative contradictions and terminological inconsistencies affect the work of local self-government bodies, which are obliged to exercise their powers to ensure the provision of social services only on the grounds, in the manner and within the limits provided for by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
 It is emphasised that the approach to the interpretation of mediation as the second stage of social intermediation (mediation) stated in the State Standard is «outdated», as it does not comply with the provisions of paragraphs 10, 18 of Part 6 of Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine «On Social Services», and negates the right to free choice of a social service provider (the right to choose a mediator rather than an intermediary immediately), as well as the right to ensure the best interests of individuals/families in need of social mediation.
 The article focuses on the problem of low awareness of both the population and officials/relevant employees of local self-government bodies on mediation (its essence and features, mediability of disputes, search and engagement of mediators, etc.), as well as on the latter’s obligation to actively inform the population about the social service of mediation and provide advice on the exercise of the right to receive it.