Pelatihan dan Pelasanaan Penyelesaian Sengeketa Non-Litigasi (Mediasi) di Pengadilan Agama Ponorogo

Abstract

This Community Service (PKM) activity is motivated by the high volume of civil cases at the Ponorogo Religious Court, which in 2024 reached 1,950 cases, yet only 206 were successfully mediated. This phenomenon indicates a gap between the number of disputes and the optimization of non-litigation channels, exacerbated by a lack of legal literacy among the public regarding the importance of amicable settlements outside of judicial decisions. The primary objective of this service is to strengthen the synergy between academics from the University of Darussalam Gontor and legal practitioners at the Ponorogo Religious Court through counseling and the implementation of mediation to accelerate dispute resolution effectively and humanely. The method used in this program involves two main stages: counseling, which provides legal solution guidance to the litigating parties, and the direct implementation of mediation as non-judge mediators before the cases enter the formal trial stage. The results of the service show that the integration of academic roles as mediators provides a significant transformative impact. First, mediation successfully broke the chain of disputes more quickly, thereby reducing the accumulation of cases in court. Second, the parties experienced financial benefits in the form of lower court costs and efficiency in time and energy. Third, the inclusive mediation process managed to maintain social relations between parties because the solutions generated were win-win and lacked the coercion of litigation execution. The conclusion of this activity emphasizes that strengthening non-litigation channels not only lightens the burden on judicial institutions but also serves as an effective legal education tool in shifting the public paradigm from a confrontational culture toward a culture of peace. The success of this program recommends the need for continuous collaboration between universities and judicial institutions to promote mediation as the primary instrument for achieving restorative and inclusive justice in the Ponorogo region.