 |  |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|  | |  | |
(c)
The lack of infrastructure point
It is plain that for court-annexed mediation to work, the necessary infrastructure must
be in place. In particular :-
(a)
One or more institutions able to train and accredit mediators and to establish
and develop procedural and ethical rules for mediation have to be available and
acceptable to the judiciary.
(b)
There must be enough trained and sufficiently skilled mediators on the ground.
(c)
Lawyers must be educated on the subject so as to be able to advise their clients
on and to represent them in court-annexed mediation.
(d)
To the extent that unrepresented litigants are participants in mediation, facilities
must exist to provide them with relevant information and education regarding
the process.
(e)
Judges must be trained to recognize cases which may benefit from mediation, to
case manage litigation accommodating mediation efforts and to administer
relevant rules, including any costs sanctions, in an appropriate manner.
(f)
The courts may need to develop case-law on the application of principles
relating to costs sanctions and other aspects of the interaction between the
traditional civil justice system and mediation.
Such an infrastructure obviously does not come into existence overnight. It has to be
established and improved progressively as more people are trained and as experience
of the process spreads. Over the longer term, ADR should become part of the standard
curriculum in university, professional and continuing legal education programmes.
Nevertheless, in Hong Kong, much of the basic infrastructure already exists.
|
 |
|