Tetiana Tsuvina
Fellow 2024/2025
Law
Department of Civil Procedure, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Kharkiv
Volkswagen Stiftung
tsuvinat@gmail.com
Bio
Doctor of Law (Dr Hab.), Head of the Civil Procedure, Arbitration and International Private Law Department at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv, Ukraine). A qualified lawyer with extensive experience in the area of civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution with scientific and practical experience, including mediator practice. A legal researcher with many publications devoted to international standards of civil procedure, European standards of a fair trial, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and mediation. A trainer of mediation with experience in coordinating, planning, designing and implementing training programs on mediation for law students and legal practitioners (judges, attorneys at law, notaries, etc.).
A member of the working group for proposals for the ratification of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, a director of the Center for Mediation and ADR at Yaroslav Mudriy National Law University, an international expert on ADR of GIZ Programme “Promotion of the Rule of Law in Central Asia”, a national expert on ADR of USAID New Justice Program, Project “Pravo-Justice” and OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. In September 2020 obtained a scholarship from The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for young researchers. Main fellowships: visiting researcher at Chair of Alternative Dispute Resolution at Graz University (Austria, 2022-2023), Petro Jacyk Non-Residential Fellowship at the University of Toronto (research ‘Justice in Crisis: Fair Trial in Civil Cases Amid the War in Ukraine’, online, 2022-2023), IU-Ukraine Nonresidential Scholars Program at the Indiana University (research 'Judicial Impartiality in Civil Procedure: Comparative Study of EU and USA Approaches with the Proposals for Ukraine', online, 2022-2023).
Integration of Mediation into Civil Procedure: EU Best Practices and Perspectives for Ukraine
This research examines the mechanisms for integrating mediation into civil procedure in EU countries and explores how these mechanisms can be applied to Ukraine’s legal system. Mediation, a consensual alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method, is encouraged by international documents like Directive 2008/52/EC, which advocates its integration into formal civil procedure. While Ukraine's Law "On Mediation" (2021) outlines mediation as an independent procedure, it provides limited guidance on its interaction with civil proceedings. This comparative study aims to identify practical models of mediation integration in EU countries and propose an optimal solution for Ukraine.
The project consists of two parts: the first focuses on EU countries, and the second addresses the Ukrainian perspective. The study covers various aspects, including: models of mediation integration (court mediation, court-related mediation, out-of-court mediation), mandatory mediation practices, mediation clauses, court powers related to mediation, and the enforcement of mediation agreements. The research will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each model.
Additionally, the project aims to analyze mediation integration in civil procedure from the perspectives of access to justice and rule of law, assess the effectiveness of EU countries' approaches, and propose a comprehensive model for Ukraine based on EU practices. The research will result in a monograph, research articles, conference presentations, and a certificate program on mediation and civil procedure for students at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.