Divorce is messy. Sometimes mediation won't work
Divorce is messy. Sometimes mediation won't work
From the Guardian, full article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/divorce-mediati...
The government's plans to force warring couples to talk fail to take on board the complexity of marital breakdown.
The law has a lot to answer for when it comes to divorce. Until judicial divorce was introduced in 1857, ecclesiastical courts presided over marriage breakdowns to the detriment of women: a woman's property became her husband's, and he could lock her up, beat her, and deny her access to her children. A married woman was legally equivalent to lunatics, outlaws and minors...
As the judges whose job it is to clear up the damage say frequently, it is these issues that force people into court in the first place. While everyone acknowledges that alternative means of resolving disputes are better for all parties involved – cheaper and faster and offer far better outcomes for children caught up in the crossfire, they do not always work. Mediation – one of the most popular out-of-court approaches – usually relies on some measure of goodwill, some willingness of the parties to provide information, and their ability to sit around a table as equals. In other words, "compulsory mediation" is something of a contradiction.
Yet that's exactly what the government has proposed. Under a protocol agreed between the ministry of justice and the judiciary, divorcing couples will now be required to undergo a compulsory "mediation awareness session", familiarising them with the mediation process and encouraging them to use it as an alternative to going to court...
Read the full article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/divorce-mediati...
From the Guardian, full article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/divorce-mediati...
The government's plans to force warring couples to talk fail to take on board the complexity of marital breakdown.
The law has a lot to answer for when it comes to divorce. Until judicial divorce was introduced in 1857, ecclesiastical courts presided over marriage breakdowns to the detriment of women: a woman's property became her husband's, and he could lock her up, beat her, and deny her access to her children. A married woman was legally equivalent to lunatics, outlaws and minors...
As the judges whose job it is to clear up the damage say frequently, it is these issues that force people into court in the first place. While everyone acknowledges that alternative means of resolving disputes are better for all parties involved – cheaper and faster and offer far better outcomes for children caught up in the crossfire, they do not always work. Mediation – one of the most popular out-of-court approaches – usually relies on some measure of goodwill, some willingness of the parties to provide information, and their ability to sit around a table as equals. In other words, "compulsory mediation" is something of a contradiction.
Yet that's exactly what the government has proposed. Under a protocol agreed between the ministry of justice and the judiciary, divorcing couples will now be required to undergo a compulsory "mediation awareness session", familiarising them with the mediation process and encouraging them to use it as an alternative to going to court...
Read the full article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/divorce-mediati...
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