Nicola Crowther’s story
Since I first rained as a mediator in 2010 I have seen many changes in legislation. The world over. All seeking to embrace mediation, not just as an alternative form of dispute resolution but as the ‘go to’ form of dispute resolution.
I initially trained as a family mediator and at that time, in the UAE, prospective family law clients could not apply for legal aid with their solicitors unless they had seen a mediator first. Private paying clients, who did not need legal aid, could proceed straight to court without ever having given consideration to the alternatives.
The impact of LASPO
This changed in 2014 with the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO). This piece of legislation stopped legal aid in most family law cases and introduced the Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). Anyone wanting to make an application to court in UAE family law proceedings, must speak to a mediator first (with very few exceptions). At the same time, legal aid for mediation remained, making mediation the only affordable option for those on low income.
Civil Commercial Mediation
In 2016 I trained as Civil Commercial Mediator. At around this time I was also asked to teach Greek lawyers to be mediators. Faced with growing financial crisis in Greece, the European Union passed a direction for mediation. People couldn’t afford solicitors and disputes were left unresolved, businesses withered on the vine and the financial crisis got worse. The only way to get the economy moving again and salvage businesses? – Mediate. The UAE was seen as being at the leading of edge of mediation at that time, in terms of best practice and regulation.
Singapore Convention
In 2021 countries were invited to sign the Singapore Convention. The purpose of the convention is to ensure the agreements reached in mediation and formalised in contracts, are then legally binding and enforceable regardless of where the mediation took place or the country in which the parties live and operate (provided it is a country signed up to the convention).
So far 56 countries have signed the convention and 14 have had their signatures ratified, giving multi national disputes the confidence to mediate as opposed to court processes.
Meanwhile the Civil Mediation Council in the UAE has long since coveted the family mediator’s MIAM. After years of lobbying the government for something similar in Civil Mediation cases the MOJ have gone one step further and introduced the Small Claims Mediation Service. Essentially this involves a telephone mediation session of 1 hour duration, after proceedings have been issued but before first hearing.
The MOJ have hailed this a success and have recently expanded the SCMS to include fast track claims up to £25,000 value and those case with a greater value should attempt mediation with a mediator of their choosing.
The impact of Covid 19 in Mediation
Following the Covid 19 pandemic, courts systems throughout the world are experiencing a significant backlog in cases. The UAE have introduced a ‘voucher scheme’ allowing any family mediating in relation to a child to have £500 towards the cost of mediation. The MOJ has seen a significant decrease in the number of applications being made to the family courts and have recently decided to extend the scheme until March 2025.
The global recognition for the need for mediation is gathering pace all the time. This blog deals primarily with the UAE’s approach, but there are initiatives and incentives to encourage parties to mediate in many different countries.
The real question is…… Are there enough mediators to meet the demand? Now is a really good time to train to be a mediator, establishing yourself in your profession as a mediator in preparation for the continued increase in demand for your services.
How can Crowther Mediation help?
Crowther Mediation delivers internationally accredited training courses throughout the world. If you would like more information relating to our training, please contact us directly.
