When the Council of Europe set out to support Belarus in modernising its dispute-resolution framework, it selected ADR Center to design and deliver the Belarusian Delegation Study Tour in Italy (November 2018). Senior officials from the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, the National Center for Legislation and the legal profession immersed themselves in Rome’s vibrant mediation ecosystem—studying regulatory structures and benchmarking against European best practice. By positioning participants at the heart of Italy’s tried-and-tested mediation model, ADR Center ensured that every visit, briefing and workshop addressed the delegation’s primary question: how can we accelerate the adoption of court-connected mediation and commercial ADR in Belarus?
To turn that strategic question into an actionable roadmap, ADR Center curated an intensive agenda that blended on-site observation with high-level policy dialogue:
Institutional briefings – Delegates met senior judges at the Rome Civil and Commercial Court, administrators of the Ministry of Justice’s Mediator Register and board members of the Rome Bar’s Mediation Center to dissect procedures, statistics and funding models.
Peer networking – Informal dinners and side meetings facilitated frank exchanges with Italian mediators, in-house counsel and insurance executives on what makes mediation commercially attractive.
Delegation profile (selection):
Mikalai Staravoitau, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
Iryna Tselikavets, Head of Advocacy & Licensing Department, Ministry of Justice
Alena Zhdanovich, Managing Partner, “Law and Mediation”, Minsk City Bar Association
Alina Beliaeva, Project Management Assistant, Council of Europe
This cross-functional cohort ensured that legal, executive and regulatory perspectives were all represented—an essential mix for a transformative Study Tour.
The Belarusian Delegation Study Tour did more than showcase Italy’s ADR success story; it equipped decision-makers with the insights, relationships and confidence needed to champion mediation reform at home—demonstrating once again how a well-designed study visit can catalyse systemic change.
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