Mediation mandatory for divorcing couples

In a bid to ease strain on the court system, divorcing couples will now be forced to undergo mediation before taking their dispute to court when new government proposals come into effect from 6 April. The proposals - which require couples wishing to use the court system to first undergo a compulsory mediation assessment session, costing up to £140 - extend the system that is currently applied to couples granted legal aid. The Ministry of Justice asserts that mediation is cheaper than court (data from legal aid cases show the average cost of mediation to be £535, where court is £2,823) and less time-consuming (according to National Audit Office figures which show that legally aided mediation takes 110 days on average, whereas going to court takes 435 days). 

Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly is reported in the Law Gazette as saying: "Nearly every time I ask someone if their stressful divorce battle through the courts was worth it, their answer is no. Mediation already helps thousands of legally aided people across England and Wales every year, but I am concerned those funding their own court actions are missing out on the benefits it can bring."

The Law Society opposes the move, issuing this statement in response: "The government is creating a myth in order to justify cuts to legal aid by taking areas such as this out of scope. Divorce can be a highly complex issue and many people going through it feel legal representation is vital. Mediation cannot resolve a dispute if there is an imbalance of power between the parties, or if one side is being obstructive or withholding information and this type of dispute resolution does not work if parties are forced into the process. If mediation does not result in an agreement, it can also add cost and time to the divorce process."