Benidorm reinforces the free mediation service for the resolution of neighborhood or family conflicts

The Department of Social Welfare of Benidorm City Council is going to reinforce the mediation service that until now it has been providing completely free of charge to resolve neighborhood or family conflicts without having to end up in court. This was announced this Thursday by the councilor for the area, Ángela Zaragozí, who has advanced that this expansion of mediation will be possible thanks to a subsidy of 20,000 euros from the Department of Justice and Interior for the implementation of the program. Proximity Mediation (MEDIAPROP), aims to bring this tool closer to the population as an alternative way to judicial resolution of matters of various kinds. “Our intention is for citizens to know that there are other ways to solve everyday problems and not everything should or can end up in court,” said Zaragozí.

The councilor for Social Welfare has indicated that among the matters in which this service can intervene are those related to neighborhood, family, educational, work, or business issues or conflicts. “The mediation begins with an information session, which can be both joint and individual with each of the parties. If it is agreed to continue with the procedure, successive sessions will be held, so that the parties reach total or partial agreements on their problems," explained the councilor, who has also pointed out that at any time throughout the process, the parties can abandon mediation. On the contrary, if a consensus is achieved, “a document is signed that will be valid before a court after registration before a notary.”

Benidorm City Council has three university experts in mediation to provide this service, which citizens can request completely free of charge. It takes place at the José Llorca Llinares Social Center, located on Goya s/n street. The councilor has indicated that, to access the information session or request a mediation process, any interested citizen must make a prior appointment, via email at mediaprop@benidorm.org.

Mediation is part of the so-called Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods (ADRs), where the parties undergo mediation voluntarily and confidentially and are always guided by a professional mediator. This process allows them to reach their agreements, without the intervention of a judge, which on the one hand greatly reduces costs for the citizens involved and, on the other, contributes to unclogging the courts of justice, by not overloading them with minor matters. . Another of its advantages is its agility.

In summary, as Ángela Zaragozí has indicated, with mediation “there is a saving in the economic and emotional costs of the process, since it shortens the time for resolving disputes and, given that it is the parties who establish the agreements, they usually have a higher execution rate compared to those dictated by judicial means.”

Benidorm's commitment to mediation

This new MEDIAPROP service joins the commitment of Benidorm City Council, through the Department of Social Welfare, for mediation. Not in vain, within the Sustainable and Integrative Urban Development Strategy (EDUSI), the City Council has promoted the creation of a municipal mediation center in Els Tolls neighborhood, which will have more than 600 square meters and is currently in the construction phase.

Finally, the Councilor for Social Welfare recalled that the MEDIARPOP service is part of the free mediation care that Benidorm City Council has been providing in the municipality since the beginning of 2021. «We believe that this tool can decongest the courts and offer neighbors a more satisfactory response to their conflicts since they are the ones who determine what the best possible solution is," the councillor added.