Mediation Pilot launch
Practitioners will be aware that the Courts encourage parties to use mediation to resolve disputes and that a refusal to mediate can result in costs sanctions.
To help those involved in litigation to try to resolve claims, Manchester is leading the way in setting up a mediation pilot, which will run from 1 September 2017.
The service will be promoted by the judges at the Civil Justice Centre. Mediation sessions will be held at the Civil Justice Centre, if available, or at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Elliot House 151 Deansgate or at local lawyers’ offices.
This scheme is designed to fill the gap between the free telephone mediation service offered by HMCTS to litigants engaged in small money claims, and full private mediation used successfully for the resolution of all kinds of much higher value cases: see LJ Briggs’ CCSR Final Report 2.24 -2.28. The first three selected locations are to be Exeter / Barnstaple, Central London and Manchester CJC.
It aims to provide a resolution service, at proportionate cost to the participants, where the cost of an all-day private mediation might be disproportionate.
Participating mediators will all be registered with the Civil Mediation Council (“CMC”), either individually or as a member of a registered mediation provider. This provides assurance that they will be suitably qualified and insured. These mediators include those that firms will have come across in practice in Manchester.
The pilot will run from 1 September. It is possible that firms may be approached by other litigants asking them whether you are willing to use the pilot. If you think mediation might help those involved to reach a settlement you can ring this number to make the arrangements:
• 0161 410 4108
• or email enquiries@promediate.co.uk
You will be put in touch with a locally based CMC registered mediator who will arrange the mediation. If the parties object to a mediator put forward, or they have a conflict of interest, another mediator will be put forward.
The scheme will be available to parties involved in disputes where the total value is more than £10,000 or the case has been allocated to the Fast Track or the Multi Track. It will also be available for those cases where one party seeks something other than money, for example an injunction.
The pilot is being run in conjunction with the Manchester Law Society, local registered Civil Mediation Council mediators and ProMediate (UK), a CMC registered Mediation Service Provider. https://www.promediate.co.uk/manchester-mediation-pilot/
