58773 Mediation ­ Key for Quicker Dispute Resolution OMV BH supports and applies out-of-court dispute resolution concept OMV has been present in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) market since 2001, when OMV AG and Istrabenz jointly established OMV Istrabenz d.o.o. Since October 2005, the company has been operating under the new name of OMV BH d.o.o., as a daughter company of OMV Refining & Marketing GmbH from Vienna. OMV BH has headquarters in Sarajevo and 26 employees, with additional 300 employees working in the network consisting of 23 advanced gas filling services. The core activity of the company is trade in oil and Using Mediation to Save Time and Money oil derivatives. OMV BH has a market share of 4.5% and is the fifth oil company in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The cost of a single court suit on average ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 KM, whereas from the other side, The OMV Group, including OMV BH d.o.o. as part of it, a mediation procedure costs between 300 and 600 is a leading oil company in Central Europe in the field of KM. It is obvious to which extent mediation contributes oil processing and trading, and it is present in 13 Central to savings in terms of time and money" - says Milan European states. Vukoja, legal representative of the company OMV BH. ,,We have learned about mediation as alternative dispute resolution from the media. Support provided by the resolution of potential future disputes. Since the beginning of International Finance Corporation (IFC) has added to the its operations, the company has been facing a large number of seriousness of the Project. disputes where it has mainly appeared as a plaintiff. The IFC support was reflected in the recommendation for us One of main reasons why alternative dispute resolution has to become actively involved in this project, "­ stated Milan become a very acceptable concept for OMV lies in the fact Vukoja, legal representative of the company OMV BH. that disputes have occurred because buyers had not settled their obligations towards OMV, which has resulted in a After the analysis of benefits and positive opportunities significant number of working assets being blocked with offered by alternative dispute resolution, Mr. Vukoja informed OMV's debtors. the OMV BH Management about the project, and with the support from the Management, he completed the mediation Some thousand agreements containing training and became a member of the Association of Mediators mediation clause of BH. In 2007, Mr. Vukoja was licensed as a mediator. Due to this In view of company's Management, additional education of development, since the beginning of 2008, he has introduced the legal representative may be positively used during the a clause for referral of disputes to mediation in almost all OMV BH sales unless they are resolved in a peaceful manner. In case a dispute is not resolved then it is referred to the competent court. So far, OMV BH has made some thousand agreements containing such a clause. Also, OMV seeks to introduce the mediation clause in agreements where OMV appears as a buyer for specific commodities or services. For that goal, OMV is making an effort to explain the benefits of mediation to their buyers, and the feedback is very positive, particularly in terms of major brands. OMV BH is one of the first companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has started to implement alternative dispute resolution in practice. Mediation ­ Key for Quicker Dispute Resolution A dispute resolved in 25 minutes ­ business relations preserved One of the cases in which OMV was a plaintiff waited for court resolution for three and a half years. Upon the initiative of the plaintiff, with consent from the other party, the proposal was to refer the case to the Center for Mediation. ,,The dispute was resolved in 25 minutes. I can say that both sides were satisfied with the solution. In this case, mediation was entirely applied, because business relations with this partner were continued, that is to say, our business relations were preserved, which is of crucial importance for us" ­ said Mr. Vukoja. In this case, education in the area of mediation has allowed Mr. Vukoja to recognize the opportunities and benefits of The Association of Mediators in Bosnia such dispute resolution method. His position is that every and Herzegovina was established in operating business in BH, regardless of it being in the private March 2002, with a purpose of creating or public sector should be trained on mediation, thus certainly conditions for the introduction of contributing to the improvement of their business. mediation as an alternative method Currently, OMV BH has a number of outstanding court suits, for dispute resolution in Bosnia and and they hope to increase the number of resolved disputes Herzegovina. For more details about the through mediation. mediation procedure, how to start it, or how to become a mediator, please visit: www.umbih.co.ba Support to Mediation In order to provide support to the development of Mediation provides an commercial mediation, OMV BH has an intention opportunity to disputed to provide part of their office space in Mostar for parties to find a solution that use to the Association of Mediators in BH. is common and acceptable The position of OMV BH is that, although there for both parties through a are Mediation Centers in place in Sarajevo and in Banja Luka, similar centers should also be confidential and structured opened in Mostar and Tuzla, in order to facilitate process with constant user's access to the mediation procedure. encouragement for discussion Such step would largely contribute to the and dialogue by a mediator. development and acceptance of mediation in the world of business in BH. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Donor: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Government of the Netherlands Lada Busevac, Program Manager E-mail: lbusevac@ifc.org H. Kresevljakovica 19/4 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Phone: 387-33-251-555 Fax: 387-33-217-762 www.ifc.org/pepse