Mediation compulsory before couples can divorce in court

Article date: 04.04.11

* From 6 April divorcing couples must attend mediation assessment meeting before they are allowed to use the courts, under new Ministry of Justice rules.

Aimed at court applications seeking, for example, 30 minutes’ extra contact time with the children, or altering contact days, the new rules aim to encourage former couples to sort out more issues with mediators, rather than ask the courts to rule on them.

Under a new procedure agreed with the judiciary, whoever instigates a matter must first go to a suitably qualified mediator . The mediator then contacts the other spouse and both attend a mediation awareness session so they understand what mediation can offer them.

Some lawyers are concerned that mediation could favour a more powerful or articulate spouse, or allow one to withhold information and obstruct the process more easily. The more vulnerable spouse may then miss out on the legal advice they really need to help them safeguard their position. In addition, some lawyers have suggested that the new rules have just made the process longer and more expensive because if no agreement can be reached, the issue goes to Court anyway.

On the other hand, it has been suggested that the new rules relieve the overloaded court system, and takes away some of the problems associated with the adversarial approach required in court – particularly when the issue at stake involves the children.

Recommendation

Couples contemplating divorce should prepare themselves for more mediation in future, and a governmental trend towards making them resolve issues between themselves wherever possible.

* This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.