The received wisdom, universally, is that it is better to ‘jaw, jaw’ rather than ‘war, war’. Actually, that’s just another way of saying that the pen is mightier than the sword! However, the jury is still out, on mediation being made compulsory for all areas of legal dispute. Personal injury lawyers have been reported to ‘shun’ it, but it has been a requirement prior to the issue of family law proceedings for some time now. There are, of course, several exemptions, most notably where domestic violence is alleged, and where delay might result in a substantial miscarriage of justice. The applicant being out of the jurisdiction is another exemption, although the Court always has the option to order mediation in any event, if it considers it just to do so.
On balance however, the prevailing view is that ‘it’s good to be made to talk.’ The issue is being discussed by the Civil Justice Council, which is consulting on the issue until the end of the month. The perception anecdotally, is that mediation is ‘yet to become culturally accepted in the legal profession’. The organisation is looking at ways to change this perception – if indeed they are right about it. Watch this space!
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