Since 2003, the U. S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, and the Romanian Ministry of Justice have collaborated on a pilot mediation project located in Craiova, Romania. The goal of the project has been 1) to develop a core group of Romanian mediator/trainers in Craiova; and 2) to send a team of U.S. mediator/trainers, who could work in conjunction with their Romanian colleagues, to train 10 mediators in every county of the country. This effort, which culminated with a final training of 40 mediators in November of 2006, has paralleled the progress of a mediation law through the Romanian legislature. That law was passed in the spring of 2006 and allows judges, for the first time, to refer cases to mediation. Prior to this time, lawyers could, of their own accord, conduct mediation sessions. The institutionalization of the process into the Romanian Civil Code, however, is an important part of Romania’s judicial reforms which are required as part of its effort to gain entry into the European Union.

Ms. Green traveled to Romania with colleagues three times during 2005 to conduct a total of six weeks of mediation training in Craiova, helping to train a total of forty mediators each time. She returned in September 2006 for an additional two weeks.