O projeto de extensão em mediação da Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul enquanto mecanismo concretizador de acesso à justiça.

Abstract

His study analyzes the effectiveness of the Mediation Extension Project at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (UNISC) as a mechanism for ensuring access to justice and promoting a culture of peace. The research addresses the crisis of the adversarial system in Brazil and the emergence of alternative dispute resolution methods, contextualizing the role of Community Higher Education Institutions (ICES) in Rio Grande do Sul in the implementation of these public policies. The research problem asks: Can the mediation developed within the extension project of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, which serves a territory equivalent to the jurisdiction of a judicial district, based on the analysis of reports from the period 2021–2024, be considered a fast and humanized form of access to justice? For the development of this study, the deductive approach method was employed, along with the monographic procedure method and documentary and bibliographic research techniques. The research is linked to the line of Public Policies for Social Inclusion within the Graduate Program (Master’s and Doctorate) in Law at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, and is directly connected to the research conducted by the supervising professor of this dissertation. Furthermore, it aligns with the objectives of the United Nations (SDG 16), which aims to promote peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. The findings reveal a high resolution rate of 57% (agreement rate) in mediation sessions conducted between 2021 and 2024, indicating the procedural effectiveness of the project. In addition, satisfaction assessments show that 95.73% of users considered the agreement reached to be fair, and 100% would return to mediation sessions, perceiving the project as a space for restorative dialogue that fosters self-composition in significantly less time compared to judicial proceedings. The significance of these findings lies in the validation of the extension model as a university public policy that provides access to justice, benefiting a total of 527 individuals and overcoming barriers related to cost and procedural delay. It is concluded that the UNISC Mediation Extension Project plays an important role in consolidating a culture of peace and in training legal professionals oriented toward consensual dispute resolution.