Il tempo ed i tempi della mediazione familiare. La mediazione familiare: la chiave del tempo della giustizia consensuale

Drawing on a speech delivered at the Conference “The Time and Times of Family Mediation” (Vercelli, 26–27 September 2025), held to mark the 30th anniversary of S.I.Me.F. (Italian Society of Family Mediators), this article reflects on the role of both the study and practice of family mediation, as well as its promotion and dissemination beyond family matters into the broader field of civil justice. The author argues that family mediation—and family mediators themselves—anticipated what is now commonly referred to as “consensual justice.” Acting as “gentle rebels,” and drawing on the constitutionally grounded favor relationis, family mediators have advanced a more humane vision of justice. By going beyond the rigid, binary, and heteronomous logic of court litigation, they have fostered a model that empowers parties to identify their underlying needs and concerns and to recognise the transformative potential of conflict, while simultaneously inviting a reconsideration of the role and function of legal professionals within the justice system.