Innovation in administrative mediation in Catalonia

Javier Wilhelm, Master in Professional Mediation Director

The Government has started by making public in the session of February 15 the path for the processing of a new law that integrates the legal regime of public administrations in Catalonia, including digital administration and media electronic communications in their relations with the public, to facilitate efficiency with legal certainty.

Everyday life has been digitized for us, and the pandemic has accelerated this inertia by connecting people through electronic means of communication, with this legislative initiative, which is now underway, the rules will be clearer, and the channel of closer and more transparent communication throughout the country.

It should be noted that mediation has been thought of as one of the main mechanisms of ADRs to achieve the conventional termination of the administrative procedure, giving way to a channel for dialogue and dispute management with agility and the solutions to be built will have to be to be mutually accepted, within the legal framework, as has already been shown in other areas where mediation is a reality.

The Government approves the report of the Preliminary Draft Law on the Administrative Procedure and Legal Regime of the Public Administrations of Catalonia

Recall that in the summer of 2020 the Parliament unanimously approved Law 9/2020, of 31 July amending the second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, relating to the person and the family, and Law 15 / 2009, mediation in the field of private law; which showed that doing nothing and keeping everything the same is not the best option for fostering coexistence within families. Now, the Government's commitment is one step closer to the link between administrations and people, when procedures have to be processed and / or managed with their public administrations.

As the main objectives of the new bill, we identify:

• Update and unify regulations on digital administration, both for the internal and organizational issues of the administrations and the relations with the citizens.
• Offer more effective access to all citizens in front of any Catalan public administration.
• Deepen consistency in the unification of legal criteria of various rules.
• Facilitate the arrival of citizens, establishing a way to create an effective and efficient access with a two-way access to the administration and, from the administrations of access to people.
• It is worth noting the implementation of alternative procedures for resolving procedures through administrative mediation as a leading innovation, in order to establish a secure, close and reliable channel of communication and resolution of procedures between citizens and their public administrations.
• In line with the SDGs set by the 2030 agenda, a path would be taken, in line with this, in the following objectives: (10) Reducing inequalities by giving equal opportunities to the entire population throughout the territory , strengthening appropriate rules and access routes, (11) Sustainable cities and communities through electronic processing, facilitating access to citizenship; (16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions by promoting dual access between citizens and administrations in an inclusive, effective and transparent manner, encouraging citizen participation, and more universal access to information that competes with people who are part of a country where dialogue and coexistence become a sign of identity.

Catalonia began to open successful paths in the 1990s through mediation, promoted by Restorative Justice and family conflicts in the field of private law. 30 years later, in the field of public administrations, which are for everyone, we have the opportunity to innovate bravely with the well-being of the people in mind, and to contribute to the construction of a healthy, coherent environment. , and sustainable for years to come and new generations.