Introduced a few years ago to speed up the judiciary process, mediation is now among the most sought-after alternative methods for plaintiffs and defendants in minor legal cases.

In the past two and a half years, a record 571,035 cases were concluded without court proceedings thanks to mediation, saving time for judges and prosecutors overwhelmed with a large number of cases.

The Justice Ministry announced yesterday that over 140,000 cases were mediated this year and most involved cases regarding crimes such as insult, minor injuries, threats, causing injury by negligence and damage to property. The ministry also said in a statement that the success rate in mediation was 84%.

The mediation process involves a mediator bringing together the parties to a legal case without a trial. With the assistance of mediator, the sides settle on withdrawing their complaints in exchange for a task or fine agreed upon by both parties. Tasks vary from community service to a simple apology and paying for damages or a donation to charities instead of paying compensation to the plaintiff.