Place of dispute settlement with the participation of a judge in the system of dispute resolution methods

Dispute settlement with the participation of a judge is a relatively new method of resolving disputes in Ukraine. It was introduced in 2017 on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine, the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine and other legislative acts”. It is often compared with already known methods of resolving disputes: mediation, arbitration, etc. The characteristic features of this procedure include: voluntariness, equality of the parties, informality, confidentiality, lack of recording of the process. A significant number of scientific publications relate to the comparison of mediation and dispute settlement with the participation of a judge. Obviously, this is explained by the similarity of some features of these procedures: confidentiality, the presence of an arbiter between the parties, etc. A number of scientists believe that the procedure of dispute settlement with the participation of a judge is a separate type of mediation or a method derived from mediation. The article considers similar positions, however, it is noted that with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Mediation” in 2021, such statements have lost their meaning. The publication analyzes the requirements for conducting a dispute settlement with the participation of a judge. The above made it possible to identify the close connection and inseparability of this procedure with the traditional judicial process. It has been established that dispute settlement with the participation of a judge can be considered a separate institution of the procedural law of Ukraine. At the same time, the characteristic features of the dispute settlement with the participation of a judge allow us to consider this procedure as an additional, alternative way for the parties to the legal process to resolve the dispute. The close relationship between the dispute settlement with the participation of a judge and the legislative requirements for the final stage of the procedure give grounds to consider it as a dependent method of resolving disputes. It has been established that, among other things, the dispute settlement with the participation of a judge is completed by concluding a settlement agreement, and therefore, taking into account other features, this procedure can be considered as a combined alternative method of dispute resolution.