Justice minister calls for greater steer towards mediation
Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he set out the government’s plan to support mediation in the wake of its proposals to slash legal aid.
Speaking at CEDR’s (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) 20th anniversary awards dinner last week, he said: ‘We need to work together to build the case for mediation and other forms of dispute resolution, so that it is adopted by the many and not just the few.’
Djanogly said the financial situation was ‘forcing us to tighten our belts’, but denied the government saw mediation ‘simply as a means of delivering savings and pushing people away from the justice system’.
‘This is not a debate that is just about resources, but how we want the justice system to operate in a mature and modern society,’ he said.
Criticising the ‘litigious society’, Djanogly said the courts are too often seen as the first resort rather than the last. Instead, he said individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems.
The courts should only be used when a genuine point of law arises or where a person’s liberty or security is threatened, he said.
‘[The courts] should not be used as arenas of conflict, argument and debate when a more mature and considered discussion of the issues at hand between parties could see a better outcome for them,’ said Djanogly.
The minister said more needed to be done to educate people about the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options available.
‘In this, I believe the legal profession has an invaluable role to play, by supporting people in taking a less adversarial and a more collaborative approach to solving their problems,’ he said.
To increase its support for mediation Djanogly announced the government would introduce proposals to build on the success of the small claims mediation scheme, and relaunch the pledge that requires government departments to use ADR where appropriate.
Comments
Justice Minister calls for greater steer towards mediation.
Dear Sirs,
I think that justice minister Jonathan Djanoglys call last week for people to go to mediation rather than the courts attacks the very fundamentals of our judicial system. In a week when the great and the good went to a muddy field to celebrate the Magna Carta, I find the ministers comments an attack on the separation of powers and on the remaining vestiges of Magna Carta itself. In particular I quote “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”
Surely in these straitened economic times, the majesty of the law, the one recourse that all people have be they rich or poor should be defended from attack by what is in essence penny pinching at the expense of justice.
Yours faithfully
Terence O'Connor
Senior Solicitor
If the powers that be had any
If the powers that be had any respect for the Great British Court System and abuse within this system did not occur daily there would be no need to cut the system back, smaller case loads within the court system will mean more attention to the cases in front of them
Common Sense
Dear Sirs
I'm fed up paying greedy solicitors outrageous fee notes and am pleased the government has seen common sense. People should only resort to costly legal advice where it is necessary. Congratulations for challenging this parasitic foreign concept from America which states that no human conflict can be resolved without recourse to the courts. Solicitors love being involved in every conceivable branch of human activity and conflict so they can help themselves to hard working people’s money. They especially like taxpayer money with only incompetent civil servants watching the fees.
Well done
A little bit of common sense
To be fair the minister has a point - people are too quick to issue proceedings, and certainly in family & children cases there is a lot of tit for tat behaviour.
Mediation should always be the starting point (unless there's domestic violence or other such issues), and then if this fails there's always recourse to the courts.
We do seem to have, unfortunately, gone down a road where the first response is to threaten court proceedings, and this usually ends up with children being dragged through proceedings that could well have been avoided, not to mention cost a small fortune. all very well if you qualify for legal aid, but crippling for those parties who don't!
A little bit of common sense
To be fair the minister has a point - people are too quick to issue proceedings, and certainly in family & children cases there is a lot of tit for tat behaviour.
Mediation should always be the starting point (unless there's domestic violence or other such issues), and then if this fails there's always recourse to the courts.
We do seem to have, unfortunately, gone down a road where the first response is to threaten court proceedings, and this usually ends up with children being dragged through proceedings that could well have been avoided, not to mention cost a small fortune. all very well if you qualify for legal aid, but crippling for those parties who don't!