mediation

Question 1

advantage: speed and convenience

Answer 1

quicker than civil court, can meet as soon parties agree on a date, neutral venue and time can be agreed upon, less procedure complicated rules of evidence

Question 2

advantage: empowerment

Answer 2

parties make an agreement, no decision is imposed from above

Question 3

advantage: privacy

Answer 3

conducted in private , not published in media, allows space for sensitive disputes and topics

Question 4

advantage: cost

Answer 4

much cheaper than the civil courts eg divorcee proceedings average is a lot lower than civil court costs

Question 5

disadvantage: imbalance of power

Answer 5

one partner may have less financial power, traditionally female would be bullied

Question 6

disadvantage: 20% reach no agreement

Answer 6

where parties views entrenched , mediation wastes time and money
eg Paul Mcartney and heather mill ended up in court after mediation failed
ended up being more messy

Question 7

disadvantage : enforceability

Answer 7

unless parties have made agreement legally binding, cannot enforce

Question 8

disadvantage: lack of legal expertise

Answer 8

mediators may not be legally trained yet may reach points of law

Question 9

what is relate

Answer 9

has trained counsellors, not always legally trained, aim to create non hostile future relations which is harder to do in court. have 70 centres nationally and see 150,000 people a year

Question 10

key info

Answer 10

neutral third party acts as a go between to help 2 disputing parties
- often keep parties separate
-mediator defines issues but cannot offer solution, must come from parties
-voluntary process and only legally binding if parties agree
-party have to pay own legal costs

Question 11

what does the Family Law Act 1996 encourage

Answer 11

encourages couples seperating to use mediation , good for divorce