On the occasion of the European Day of Mediation, today, Tuesday, January 21, the Board of Directors of the Institució de Mediació de les Illes Balears (IMIB)an entity integrated by the Bar Association of the Balearic Islands (ICAIB) and the chambers of commerce of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza and Formentera, has released the latest statistics of conflict resolution during the year 2024.
In this regard, they have remarked that Ibiza has concentrated during the past year 76.27% of the cases in the Balearic Islands last year. From the IMIB have publicly expressed “their satisfaction for the positive evolution that has followed this system of conflict resolution” and have highlighted that the interventions have tripled, going from 20 registered in 2023 to 59 computed last year. An increase that has occurred especially on the island of Ibiza, since of the total number of requests in 2024, 45, or 76.27%, have been registered there. The increase experienced on the island of Ibiza is explained, fundamentally, in the launching, at the beginning of the year 2024, of the intrajudicial mediation service in the courts of Ibiza, an initiative sponsored by the dean judge of that judicial district, Sergio González Malabia, and which is attended by the team of mediators of the IMIB. In fact, of the total number of mediation requests computed in Ibiza, 28 correspond to intra-judicial referrals.
It should be specified that not all requests are finally translated into actual mediation procedures, since some remain in the information session offered to the parties and in which they are informed of the principles, advantages and costs of mediation, so that only at the end of this meeting the interested parties decide whether to initiate the process or not. The IMIB pointed out that, “however, it is important to note that of the procedures actually carried out, half culminate in an agreement, a percentage that could grow once the mediation sessions corresponding to the processes initiated last year are completed”. As a curiosity, it is a fact that in some of the cases processed last year within the framework of the intra-judicial referral service, the parties that did not reach an agreement did so by returning to the judicial process, which allowed them to avoid the holding of a trial and the rest of the associated procedural steps.
Satisfaction among users
Another of the aspects highlighted by the IMIB Board of Directors is the fact that the evaluations made by users reveal that the level of satisfaction of those who use this dispute resolution method is very high.
For all these reasons, the members of the governing body of the IMIB value very positively the evolution of mediation during the past year, because, they say, “it confirms the growing confidence that this medium generates not only among citizens, but also among lawyers, especially lawyers, judges and magistrates”. In addition, the implementation of the intra-judicial mediation service in Ibiza and Formentera, apart from providing a solution to judicial conflicts, has served to raise awareness of this medium to many citizens and professionals who have had the opportunity to attend an information session.
