ENFORCING MEDIATION IN LABOUR DISPUTES: A DOCTRINAL CRITIQUE OF ARTICLE 239 OF THE DRAFT LABOUR CODE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Background: This Reform Forum article examines the enforceability of settlement agreements resulting from mediation in individual labour disputes under Article 239 of the 2026 Draft Labour Code of Ukraine (No 14386). While the draft introduces mediation as a progressive and EU-oriented mechanism for dispute resolution, it fails to establish a clear procedural model for granting executive force to settlement agreements resulting from mediation. Methods: Relying on doctrinal and comparative legal analysis, the article evaluates the compatibility of the proposed enforcement framework with Article 6 of Directive 2008/52/EC and the EU principles of effectiveness (effet utile) and legal certainty. Results and Conclusions: It argues that the current wording of Article 239 creates a dual and internally inconsistent protection model: settlement agreements resulting from mediation may either be treated as ordinary contracts subject to separate enforcement proceedings or give rise to renewed judicial proceedings concerning the original labour dispute. Such structural ambiguity undermines procedural economy, weakens finality of dispute resolution, and risks strategic abuse of mediation. Drawing on comparative models from selected EU Member States, the article proposes a legislative amendment to introduce a direct mechanism for approving settlement agreements arising from court-mediated mediation, without reopening the merits of the dispute. The proposed reform would align Ukrainian labour legislation with European standards and strengthen mediation as a credible and effective access-to-justice mechanism in the context of EU integration and post-war legal transformation.