Mediators are already having a positive impact on the local judicial system, mere weeks after they have started working.
Operating under the Court Annexed Mediation Pilot Project, their introduction within the court system is aimed at bringing alternative dispute resolution to certain matters which come before the courts.
For this option to be pursued, it must be with the agreement of the parties involved in the matter.
Mediators so far have been attached to the High Courts, as well as the Oistins, District C, D and Holetown Magistrates’ Courts, with the expectation of a full roll-out by September.
According to sitting District ‘C’ Magistrate Christopher Birch, “so far the mediators are working exceedingly well”.
Asked how the process has helped so far, Birch explained that “it has taken away the adversarial nature of the legal process and has substituted a more conciliatory approach.”
Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson has referred to the mediation process as “a method designed to change the way we do business in the courts.”
Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson
He explained that the mediators were still undergoing training, which is being led by attorney-at-law Dawn Shields-Searle.