Hello! I am Gemma, a legal assistant here at Lawyer Destroyer. I would be happy to explain how mediation works and how the courts approach it in England and Wales.
What mediation is:
Mediation is a way to sort out a dispute without having a judge decide everything for you at a trial. A neutral professional, called a mediator, works with both sides to help you reach a compromise.
The mediator does not take sides, give legal advice, or tell you who is right or wrong. Instead, they help you both focus on practical solutions. If you reach an agreement, it can be written down and made legally binding. If you do not agree, you have lost nothing and can still take the matter to court.
Do you have to try it before going to court:
The short answer is that the courts strongly expect you to try mediation or another way of settling the dispute before asking a judge to step in. The exact rules depend on what kind of dispute you have.
1. Small money claims
If you have a straightforward dispute over a specific amount of money under 10,000 pounds, HM Courts and Tribunals Service operates a free Small Claims Mediation Service. They are currently rolling out rules that make this service mandatory. This means you will likely have to take part in a telephone appointment with a court-appointed mediator before your case is allowed to go to a final court hearing.
2. Larger civil disputes
For larger matters, the courts have recently become much stricter about out-of-court settlements. A recent major appeal court decision confirmed that judges now have the power to put a court case on hold and order the people involved to try mediation. Furthermore, if you simply ignore an offer to mediate or unreasonably refuse to try it, the court can penalise you heavily when it comes to paying legal costs, even if you eventually win your case.
3. Family disputes
If your problem is about child arrangements or sorting out finances after a separation or divorce, you usually must attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting before you are allowed to submit a court application. This is a short initial meeting to see if mediation would be suitable for your family. There are exceptions to this rule, most notably if there is evidence of domestic abuse or child protection concerns, or if there is a severe emergency.
Why mediation is usually a sensible practical step:
Going to court is almost always expensive, stressful, and slow. You could easily wait many months for a hearing. Also, once you are in a courtroom, you hand over all control to a judge, and there is always a risk that you might lose.
Mediation puts you in control. You do not have to agree to a settlement unless you are happy with it. It is also confidential. This means that if you suggest a compromise during mediation and the other side rejects it, they cannot tell the judge about your offer later to try and use it against you.
Even if you feel the other person is being completely stubborn, proposing mediation is a great tactical step. It shows the court that you are the sensible party who has tried your best to sort things out without wasting a judge's time.
If you would like to tell me a little bit more about the specific type of dispute you are dealing with, I can guide you on your practical next steps.
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