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Small Claims Mediation

Small Claims Mediation. A view from England & Wales Simon Madden Head of Civil Justice Transformation & Dispute Resolution Policy. Civil Procedure Rules. Overriding Objective

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Small Claims Mediation

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  1. Small Claims Mediation A view from England & Wales Simon Madden Head of Civil Justice Transformation & Dispute Resolution Policy

  2. Civil Procedure Rules • Overriding Objective • “encouraging the parties to use an alternative dispute resolutionprocedure if the court considers that appropriate and facilitating the use of such procedure”

  3. Facilitating Court Mediation • Development of Low Cost Mediation Services • In-house Small Claims Mediation Service for claims below £5,000 • National Mediation Helpline for higher value cases

  4. National Mediation Helpline • Deals mainly with claims over £5,000 • Mediation offered by commercial mediators • Usually legally represented • Legal Costs can be very high • Real incentive for parties to settle early • Time-limited mediation (3 or 4 hours) • Standard scale of fees • Settlement rates of 66%

  5. Small Claims • Claims below £5000 - usually unrepresented • Low or nil legal costs • Cheap to issue a claim in court - from £25 • Majority of cases go to a hearing • 3 mediation pilots in 2005/06 • Pilot at Manchester County Court had highest settlement rate and customer satisfaction • Roll-out across all England & Wales

  6. Small Claims Mediation Service • Currently offered free to users • Almost all types of claims have been successfully mediated • Majority of claims settle over the telephone • 20 small claims mediators now appointed • More than 10,000 mediations conducted in past 12 months • Very high satisfaction rates

  7. SCMS - How it works • Parties tick box on court form • Judges refer parties to service • Parties receive invitation - voluntary • Parties phone mediator • Mediator arranges date and time • Most mediations (>98%) by telephone • Settlement rate: 73%

  8. SCMS: Customer satisfaction (1)

  9. SCMS: Customer satisfaction (2)

  10. Customer Feedback • Initially very sceptical due to the intractable stance of the other side. It proceeded well via telephone conversations and quickly resolved to my satisfaction • As I am 68 years old, it would have been difficult for me to travel from London to Manchester. The settlement was accepted. Very easy to get in touch with the service, the mediator was extremely helpful & pleasant. • Really good service, very fair and impartial. I hope I never have to use it again, but would recommend it to anyone. I had been trying to sort out my case for 12 months. It was all done in less than one hour to both parties' satisfaction. • Effective, warm, friendly, human and humane. Everything a court is not. A professional service, which has been greatly appreciated by this claimant and one which I would advise others to make full use of. • ed to my satisfaction.

  11. SCMS: Next Steps • Government wants to see increased uptake of alternatives to court • Build on the success of the service • Possibly develop a pre-issue mediation model • Consideration of mandatory mediation?

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