With the limited access to courts and lawyers mediation is even more so now than ever the best choice to find a resolution for your dispute. Get your dispute resolved now while you can’t go anywhere you can really concentrate on what’s important and what deserves your time and energy.
Northwest Mediation uses Zoom, Skype and FaceTime as well as the phone and emails to resolve disputes so please do not feel that you cannot contact us as there are limits on physical meetings.
As with all good mediators Northwest Mediation always send out post mediation questionnaires, it’s important that we hear from clients to know what they felt went well and where there could be improvement.
Such review processes will continue internally driven as well by us as we discover new methods of work, new technologies and new ways of working with clients.
The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (New York) has similarly been reviewing its workings and has now published changes to both its arbitration methodology and mediation process.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the AAA-ICDR Eric P. Tuchmann said “The amendments to the Rules reflect the ICDR's efforts to continuously improve international arbitration and mediation through innovation, and by providing procedures that promote efficiency, transparency, and party control".
The mediation changes relate to providing more detailed guidance on the mediation procedure, emphasizing party control, establishing a method for locating mediators (hello), reminders on cybersecurity and looking at enforcement under the Singapore Convention.
You’ll recall the Singapore Convention relates to international mediation and standards, one such international mediation began this week with the EU commencing talks between Georgia’s ruling party and the opposition (the United National Movement - UNM). You may have seen in the news the opposition leader (Nika Melia) was taken into custody last week after a raid on the UNMs headquarters, in a move seen by some to be evidence of a dictatorial leadership in the current government (whose legitimacy is questioned by that very opposition).
While visiting Tbilisi the EC President Charles Michel managed to initiate the talks, which took some commentators by surprise as there had been an expectation of such a request being refused.
All opposition leaders and the current Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili went into talks on Monday evening.
Michel said “Tonight, I am proud because a good step, an important step in the right direction has been taken... the political dialogue has been relaunched” whilst accepting the problems weren’t all going to disappear overnight he confirmed that the actions provided both sides had the "political will to find together solutions."
Sticking with news from Singapore Edwin Tong Second Minister for Law announced that the review of the Community Dispute Management Framework would look at resolving disputes up front and encourage the continued increase in the take-up of community mediation as well as seeking to make improvements to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal.
A cross section of government departments are involved in the review including the Edwin’s Ministry of Law, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
There has been an increased number of neighbour disputes (presumably driven by everyone being home during the pandemic) and Edwin said of the review "First, we will look at how neighbourly disputes can be better managed and resolved upfront…When the disagreements arise, we need to quickly identify and address the root cause of the issues. This helps to preserve the goodwill before it festers and progressively tapers down. And also in this context, community leaders can play a big role."
It's so often the underlying problems that cause the issue, a case Northwest Mediation dealt with earlier this year resolved when the neighbours spoke with each other and realised how each were suffering due to the pandemic restrictions and after finding common ground were able to agree to how they would speak with each other in future and found a level of understanding they had prior to mediation simply not considered they would achieve.
Edwin commented that part of the issue with getting parties into mediation was that the process remained voluntary "The challenge, however, is getting parties to mediation. Because mediation is largely voluntary, there are also many parties who refuse to turn up for mediation, and that can arise from any number of different reasons peculiar to the case…This is not healthy for the neighbourly relationship in the longer term, and my ministry acknowledges that we can look at how we can improve the take-up rate of mediation, perhaps make it compulsory. And these are areas we are studying seriously."
Making mediation compulsory still feels uncomfortable to some of us, the whole point is that you enter the process voluntarily but (if as with family law in the UK) there were at least a requirement to show you had genuinely considered the process that would be a step in the right direction.
As we’ve said before choose to mediate early and resolve your issues effectively, timeously, and with less stress and costs than going to your solicitor so you can get out the tunnel and see the light. You have an interest in the outcome the sooner you get round the mediation table the quicker you can move forward and avoid the grilling a cross examination in court would put you through.
By having a deep and meaningful discussions with parties the mediator elicits what the true “red-lines” are and where there is the potential for compromise, it is with this structured period of reflection that the parties are then able to reach an accord.
The flexible nature of mediation and the possible outcomes make it an ideal way to resolve disputes in an ever changing world and the open nature of discussions in mediation whilst remaining confidential allows all sides to engage fully in the process and understand the needs of all involved allowing parties to reach a conclusion which both sides can live with and move on.
There are so many situations which could have been resolved by early intervention of mediation it continues to surprise me the lengths the public will go to avoid referral.
Whether you need a mediator to help out with a construction matter in the Northwest, or council’s plans in Cheshire, a civil mediator in London, a commercial mediator in Manchester, a dispute resolution for your family in Liverpool, a neighbourhood mediation in Stockport, then our mediators at Northwest Mediation can help.
Mediation is cheaper, quicker and less stressful than running any case to court, it can help with any dispute whether it's an employment issue or the sale at an under value of a property, a fight with a neighbour, family issues, commercial disputes, civil mediation or inheritance, wills and probate arguments contact Northwest Mediation on 07931318347 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk
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