Friary Law is organising a day long course to explore a framework for mediation in Ireland, in Trinity College, Dublin on March 5th. Gay Mitchell will be on hand to chair the conference an no doubt, impart highly valuable observations from his extensive experience in the world of mediation and negotiation. The conference is set to be a good day for all with many other high profile individuals confirming their presence at the event too. Read more…
High profile commercial mediation
December 17th, 2009 No comments »No doubt many of you have read or heard about the on-going case involving developer Liam Carroll, either in the newspapers or on the television. A highly complicated and difficult case presented before the High Court. While the greater case involving Mr. Carroll is still on-going there comes a great success for the mediation process amidst all the complicated entanglements.
In one of the cases being brought against Mr. Carroll, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council were appealing to protect their interests in a site co-owned by the council and Mr. Carroll. The High Court appointed a mediation group to work between the two parties and this has resulted in an agreement being reached by both parties in very quick fashion. Seeing such a high profile case being referred to mediation by the High Court and seeing a positive outcome result from the mediation process applied, is a great boost to how mediation is seen in Ireland. While slowly gaining a foothold in family law, mediation is very much at the forefront of the commercial world too, thanks to cases like this. Read more…
Mediation is badly promoted in Ireland
November 10th, 2009 No comments »I recently became aware of a very frightening statistic with respect to mediation in Ireland. In 2006, out of approximately 26,000 cases applying to the Irish family courts, only 3% of these had any exposure to a mediation service/process. There is no polite way to sum up that data – it is no less than appalling to hear that mediation was either sought or provided in so few of these cases.
Everyday I hear anecdotal evidence from family cases and/or from support organisations with whom I deal with, suggesting that still, today, there is a serious failing on behalf of the legal sector in Ireland to advocate mediation as a first stop for family cases. Of course this evidence is anecdotal but certainly applies to the vast majority of cases that I, personally, have encountered.
Many people are still unsure as to what mediation actually is. Where does the boundary lie between mediation and the legal process? Is mediation a form of counseling? These are the main questions that people tend to ask about the process. I will attempt briefly to answer them below:
Q. Where does the boundary lie between mediation and the legal process?
A. Mediation is best seen as a process that complements the legal route. Many mediators are capable of drafting high quality legal agreements for the purposes of marital separation, etc and they work in tandem with any legal counsel that the client should choose to avail of. However, for other cases such as community disputes, etc, people should not be put off by this formal guise, mediation can also be a less formal mechanism to help resolve tensions and conflicts within families or in communities, without the need for any legal intervention. Mediation empowers people to help themselves by involving them in the entire process and allowing them to decide the outcomes; more serious cases are complemented by the legal profession if it provides a greater degree of confidence amongst the clients.
Q. Is mediation a form of counseling?
A. Short answer is no. Some mediators may be qualified counseling practitioners but the mediation process is not a counseling process. It is however, true to say that mediation can eliminate many of the problems experienced in the daily lives of people in conflict and while not a form of therapy, can aid people to remove many obstacles that prevent them from fulfilling their daily life or facilitating their recovery from a bad event in their life. Mediation is conflict resolution and resolving conflict is the often the first step towards recovery but should not be thought of as therapy for serious problems.
Other questions that I have had from clients include “was my solicitor obliged to tell me about mediation before I went to court and the judge told me to try mediation first?”. Yes, most definitely! Your solicitor should be fully aware of mediation services in their locality and should advise you of these services, what they can offer, and that they can be an effective way of resolving disputes without the need for court time or prolonged legal entanglement.
Hopefully in the coming year we will see a transformation of the way in which mediation is promoted and viewed in Ireland. There are so many positive outcomes from mediation and so many cases that have benefited greatly from mediation, not least by reduction of professional fees compared to traditional alternatives. We shall await and see.
Government rules out mediation?
August 10th, 2009 No comments »In a recent announcement, Minister for Health, Mary Harney, ruled out the option of mediation to help solve the on-going dispute with respect to the pharmacists in Ireland. It’s a great shame to see the government turn its back on this option of mutually resolving the dispute with an opposition that appears more than willing to enter talks and progress to a solution. It’s especially disappointing considering the government is so much in favour of mediation for community matters and employment disputes and more outward facing situations but apparently not so for matters concerning the government.
As a qualified, professional mediator it is disheartening to hear an official line from the government, to this effect. When one side of a dispute is willing to engage in talks to end the conflict, for the public good, I would certainly encourage the other side to take up the slack and engage. This matter involving the pharmacists is affecting a great number of people, both customers and business people and is resulting in a lot of negative publicity for an already strained image of the health service in Ireland. Refusing to talk a la the mode of “we do not negotiate with terrorists” is incredibly heavy handed and disappointing. Mediation is not a concession nor an admission of defeat but rather, at minimum, a chance to open out the issues at hand and project possible solutions. In my opinion taking up the option of mediation at this stage would greatly help the situation and reduce a great deal of suffering on both sides and on their tertiary dependents.
New Debtor Legislation
July 2nd, 2009 No comments »New legislation is currently passing through the houses of the Oireachtas, giving power to the courts to imprison debtors who have the financial capacity to pay their debts but who for reasons known to themselves, chose not to. It also sets out provision such that those debtors who are financially incapable of paying their debts will not face prison internment. Read more…
In these times of economic turmoil and huge pressure facing both individuals, families, and indeed corporate entities, all of which are struggling to survive in testing circumstances, it has become increasingly important that people can be allowed to communicate and engage in safe, open dialogue. The Minister for Justice, commenting on the new bill, stated that mediation is a process whereby debtors and creditors can engage one another to help resolve the situation before presenting themselves before a court of law. So many people still do not realise that mediation is a viable option in the financial world and that negotiating an agreement between debtors and creditors is wholly achievable without the need for outside judgement.
As I said at the outset, both individuals and businesses are both struggling alike, to make ends meet in these tough times and engaging in a long, costly, court battle over outstanding debt neither helps cash-flow for businesses nor improves the situation for debtors who can either afford to pay or who cannot afford to pay their debts. People finding themselves in situations such as mortgage arrears, loan arrears, outstanding supplier debt, etc should consider mediation if the situation has become a problem with their creditor and equally so should the creditors who are experiencing problems with money owed but who think that their only path of recouping the money is through the courts. Mediation can help solve everyone’s problems.
Mediation Proposed for Traveller Family Disputes
June 22nd, 2009 No comments »I would like to acknowledge and welcome a hugely positive and progressive suggestion that mediation should be used to tackle the problems experienced by and within traveller familes within Ireland. The proposal made by the Irish Traveller Movement is set to be fully unveiled this Autumn but an insight to the plan suggests that members of the travelling communities could be trained as mediators to help resolve internal disputes within communities and help keep the peace between families in the same way that the wider community already avails of mediation for peaceful living. It’s great to see mediation being suggested for this purpose, where the intervention of an impartial and friendly face could help to diffuse a greater problem between members of the community. I wish the scheme the very best of luck for the future and every success. Read more…
UPDATE 26/06/2009: A mediator has been appointed to facilitate talks between traveller families in Co. Kerry to help resolve an escalating fued. I wish the appointed mediator the very best in this proactive approach to helping the problems within the community and hopefully it will lead to a positive and satisfactory outcome for the community. Read more…
Munster Mediation opens office in Cork
June 19th, 2009 No comments »It’s great to see more mediation practices opening across the country, providing people with the possibility of engaging with the mediation process in order to solve their difficulties. Whether it be marriage breakdown and separation or community conflict, mediation offers a very viable and safe approach to resolving conflict without the need for often detached, less individual legal dealings.
Mícéal O’Hurley-Pitts is leading up the practice in Ballincollig and brings with him an extensive experience, legal background, and international credibility and is sure to make a hugely positive impact on the South of the country. Wishing Mícéal the very best. Read more…
Elder Mediation Summit
June 8th, 2009 No comments »The MII will host a summit on Elder Mediation in Dublin on the 9th of June. A sure to be great event will see speakers from Canada and other international figures talk about the importance of the emerging area of Elder Mediation.
http://www.themii.ie/full-article.jsp?id_news=159
What is ADR?
June 7th, 2009 No comments »One of the things I hope to achieve with this website is to bring the lesser known procedures, which can help society, to the forefront of everyday knowledge. As such a good place to start is to introduce one of those awful three-letter acronyms, ADR. What is ADR? Standing for Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR is a process whereby a safe environment is created for disputants to resolve their differences and diffuse tensions; resulting in a best fit agreement that will enable life to continue without either party feeling hard-done by.
ADR in Ireland is still laying its foundations, in terms of being recognised as a valid route to resolving problems. In other highly successful countries such as the US and Canada, ADR is a way of life and works harmoniously with the legal system to empower people to help themselves. One of the biggest problems with the legal process is the handover to a third party, of personal affairs, and as such the way in which these affairs are dealt with in an impersonal manner. Many people leave legal process, feeling aggrieved or very unfortunate – just read the comments on www.rate-your-solicitor.com and you’ll see that there’s not a single good solicitor in the country if you take everyone’s experience as fact. Obviously this is not the case and there are many dedicated and gifted professionals within the Irish legal system but the problem is that most outcomes are not an agreement between both parties involved but rather an enforced judgement.
Applying ADR to a vast number of cases such as marital breakdown, workplace disputes, financial troubles, community issues, to name but a few can produce a working and highly satisfactory compromise that can be binding and enforceable if the parties so desire it to be. At no stage is there an absolute requirement for solicitors to get involved, although in terms of marriage separation agreements and such it may be advised that a legal professional should advise on any agreement reached and thus ADR can compliment the legal process and vice versa. Above all ADR is an involved process, enabling parties to resolve their differences and at a fraction of the cost of the legal route. A viable, effective, and suitable alternative to problem resolution exists; it is ADR, encompassing all forms of mediation and it is available throughout Ireland. If you have any questions about ADR then please feel free to drop me a line on jbrazil @ jonathanbrazil.com and I’ll be happy to answer any questions that you might have.
