Court reforms continue and in a paper published on 28 September 2016 the plans to transform the criminal, civil, family Courts and tribunals were announced.
This includes the following:
Our reforms will promote the full range of methods of settling disputes more swiftly, at less cost and with greater choice. This is likely to include a number of options: a dispassionate evaluation of the dispute, followed by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or a tailored hearing to resolve the issues on which the parties remain in dispute. These options are designed to minimise combative hearings and help parties settle their disputes with the minimum of stress and acrimony, whether they are members of the public or multi-national corporations. Depending on the complexity of a case – and the needs of all involved – it might be online, paper-based or face-to-face.
So the message is- let’s mediate!