Brunilda Zenelaga holds a Ph.D. on Sociology from Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana. She has participated in university and post university qualifications at University of Montpellier, France and University of Siena, Italy. Now she works as full time lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Tirana. She has been working with the mediation in Albania since 1999, collaborating with the Albanian Foundation of Conflict Resolution (AFCR) in Tirana. She is also a practitioner, trainer, researcher and manual writer on Restorative Justice, especially with the focus on minors in contact with the law.

From theory to practice: the challenges of service quality offering during mediation practices in Albania

The paper examines the challenges related to the quality mediation service in Albania. Despite the fact that mediation in Albania is now towards its consolidation road, the challenges of its implementation, especially those related to the quality of service, still remain numerous.
Generally speaking, the higher the quality of the mediation service is, the greater the credibility of the process to the parties and to the wider community, will be.
This presentation is based on an analyze of the data obtained from a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. On one hand, free discussions with 11 mediators have reflected, from mediators perspective, the challenges related to the quality during the mediation service providing. On the other hand, 173 satisfaction questionnaires compiled by parties, that have participated in the mediation process, reflected their perceptions about the quality of service offering.
The results showed a high level of satisfaction from parties who have participated at the mediation service, but mediators stressed their need for periodically continues training, shadow mediating and more cases to be referred to the mediation service. According to them, the theory must be combined to the practice, because after all, practice makes perfect.