The Royal Decree-law of 5 March 2012 on civil and commercial mediation was published in the official Spanish journal on the 6 March 2012. With this new regulation the legislator has implemented into Spanish legislation the Mediation Directive. The Spanish legislation has extended the provisions to domestic mediations also. The aim is to stimulate the use of mediation as a means of voluntary, flexible and cost-effective dispute resolution, thus reducing the close to 2 million legal proceedings per year brought before the ordinary Spanish civil courts and, in turn, lowering the costs currently faced by the Spanish judicial system.
