Mediation Service Provides Alternative to Court Hearing
05/06/2008‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ and ‘Mediation’ are terms very popular with Judges in the County Courts and High Court who feel that they have to decide too many disputes which should have been resolved by the parties themselves.
Civil disputes in business range from debts, breach of contract, property and boundaries, building work, employment, disputes with Directors, partnership dissolutions and intellectual property.
At Temple Heelis, we anticipate soon that a party issuing a new claim will have to state whether or not they will consider settling “out of Court” and a Defendant filing a Defence will have to do the same.
So what is Mediation?
Mediation is a conflict resolution process in which an impartial third party (the Mediator) assists the disputing parties in negotiating to achieve a consensual and informed settlement. In Mediation, decision-making authority rests with the parties themselves. The role of the Mediator includes reducing the obstacles to communication, maximising the exploration of alternatives and addressing the needs of those it is agreed are involved or affected.
Mediation is based on the principles of problem-solving that focus on the needs and interests of the participants; fairness; privacy; self-determination; and the best interests of all parties.
With the knowledge that the Courts may come close to forcing parties to enter into a formal Mediation process it is important for anybody who is in the early stages of a dispute to consider Mediation. It does not necessarily mean meeting halfway, but it does mean that you have the chance of a swift conclusion without the lottery of a Court hearing where a Judge can easily disappoint both parties who will have lost the power to settle the dispute themselves.
Though Roger is based in Kendal, Cumbria he provides a mediation service throughout Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire.