The past 12 months have seen significant strides for mediation within the civil justice system. In November 2023, the seminal Court of Appeal case Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil confirmed that it is not a breach of human rights to order parties to mediate, and that a court could order unwilling parties to engage in a non-court-based dispute resolution process, provided that the order did not impair the very essence of the claimant’s right to proceed to a judicial hearing and was proportionate to achieving the legitimate aim of settling the dispute fairly, quickly and at reasonable cost.
This decision was followed by a change to the Civil Procedure Rules, which came into effect on 1 October 2024, bringing the rules into line with the Churchill judgment. The changes ensure that mediation and other forms of dispute resolution are now part of the overriding objective and that there are costs sanctions for failure to comply with the rules.
Less has been heard about the role of mediation outside of the court process and how it has an increasingly positive impact on public life, bringing its benefits to the areas of health, housing, education, and public safety, whilst at the same time helping to prevent disputes from escalating to the court process.
The Civil Mediation Council (CMC), whose charitable objectives include raising awareness of this form of dispute resolution, have been working across both court and non-court-based initiatives to help embed mediation into wider consciousness.
As the chair of the CMC, barrister and mediator Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho, has pointed out: 'The changes to the CPR which follow Churchill, and the future direction for dispute resolution, are essential knowledge for all disputes lawyers. But mediation skills are powerful in so many more situations. Mediation skills are being used to real and profound impact for resolving conflicts and improving relationships in the business world, our workplaces, our communities and for the wider benefit of society.'
Much is known about the power of mediation to reduce court backlogs, but less is said about its ability to free up GP time and reduce the burden on policing, for example. Mediation Hertfordshire, a community mediation organisation based in Hemel Hempstead, innovated a scheme for mediation to be ‘socially prescribed’ from primary care in Hertfordshire. This project helped individuals to successfully navigate family disputes and workplace conflict, reducing the medicalisation of disputes and the need for repeat appointments with a GP.
The scope for the expansion of mediation is wide and requires imagination and the sharing of ideas. At last year’s CMC annual conference, one session looked at the role of mediation training in prisons and its impact on creating a calmer, more cohesive prison population as well as its impact on reoffending. Many lawyers are now also trained mediators and I often wonder how many have a full appreciation of the varied arenas in which their skills can be deployed?
An appreciation of the wide application of mediation can support newly trained mediators to develop their skills. Many newly qualified mediators join their local community mediation organisation to help build confidence by deploying newly acquired skills in unique and challenging settings. Looking to support dispute resolution outside of the day job can equip mediators with insights that support a mediation caseload within more familiar legal territory.
For more information about the work of the Civil Mediation Council and this year’s annual conference, visit CMC Conference 2024 - A Broader Reach (civilmediation.org).
Victoria Harris is deputy chief executive at the Civil Mediation Council and trustee of Mediation Hertfordshire, a community mediation organisation
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