On February 18, 2025, the UBA Mediation Committee addressed the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy regarding the draft law introduced to the Verkhovna Rada on January 27, 2025, which proposes amendments to Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mediation” regarding information that cannot be classified as confidential.

The members of the Committee expressed their concern about the proposed amendments to Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mediation” and, having analyzed the draft law, determined that these amendments contradict the principle of confidentiality of mediation, which is one of its main principles.

The appeal of the UBA Committee to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy emphasizes that the current version of the law fully complies with the requirements of Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of confidentiality in mediation and already provides for the possibility of its restriction in certain cases, in particular in case of a threat to the physical or psychological integrity of persons.

Representatives of the UBA Committee also drew attention to the lack of clear terminology in the proposed amendments, in particular, the term “mediation agreement”, which is not defined in the legislation, which is a violation of lawmaking technique.

Based on their analysis, they consider it inappropriate to include the draft law in the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Accordingly, the UBA Mediation Committee proposed to reject these amendments, as they create potential risks for abuse and undermine the basic principles of mediation, in particular confidentiality.

Members of the Committee will continue to monitor the developments and are ready to provide further comments and recommendations on improving the legislation in the field of mediation.

For more information on the appeal, please follow the link.