Communicate.....Negotiate......Compromise.......Settle....... Move On
This web site is about how to settle disputes using a mediator in Guernsey. It has been developed by the Guernsey Bar Council in conjunction with the Guernsey Citizens Advice Bureau. Use of this site is subject to the terms.
It covers disputes about contracts, property and money and family disputes about divorce, finances and children. It provides practical advice describing the process, an idea of how much it will cost when compared to the court process and identify how to contact a mediator and start the process.
It covers disputes about contracts, property and money and family disputes about divorce, finances and children. It provides practical advice describing the process, an idea of how much it will cost when compared to the court process and identify how to contact a mediator and start the process.
Why Mediate ?
The courts are expensive, and often slow and difficult places to settle disputes. Judges and courts exist to impose solutions on people who will not or cannot reach agreement with one another about a dispute, or on people who break the law. Disputes are much better off being settled in a way in which both parties can agree, however grudgingly, to live with the outcome. This is particularly true for divorce and family problems. Mediation allows disputes to be settled quickly and cheaply, in a way which allows the parties to communicate their issues openly rather than attack one another in an adversarial court process which tends to focus people on who will be on the "winning" and "losing" side of their argument.
Mediation can enable a dispute to be settled faster and more cheaply. Mediation also helps you to identify what the main points of dispute are - this can be very important in shortening any subsequent court process and focussing the parties only on the main issues between them rather than "point scoring". Mediation also gives you an opportunity to negotiate the outcome.......once you get to court, the judge will listen politely to what the parties have to say, then impose a solution which you may not want. The judge is also bound by the rules of court and case precedent to make certain awards of damages in a set way, in a mediation the settlement can be more creative and involve swapping assets or payment in kind, for example. Unless a judge has made an error you won't have any further say in the matter, you simply have to accept the outcome, (and pay for the privilege). The courts may also look more favourably on someone who has tried honestly and openly to mediate a problem rather than take it to court when they are considering issues like who should pay for the costs of litigation. If you have tried to mediate something and the other side refuses, this might indicate to the court that the other party is behaving deliberately unreasonably.
Mediation can enable a dispute to be settled faster and more cheaply. Mediation also helps you to identify what the main points of dispute are - this can be very important in shortening any subsequent court process and focussing the parties only on the main issues between them rather than "point scoring". Mediation also gives you an opportunity to negotiate the outcome.......once you get to court, the judge will listen politely to what the parties have to say, then impose a solution which you may not want. The judge is also bound by the rules of court and case precedent to make certain awards of damages in a set way, in a mediation the settlement can be more creative and involve swapping assets or payment in kind, for example. Unless a judge has made an error you won't have any further say in the matter, you simply have to accept the outcome, (and pay for the privilege). The courts may also look more favourably on someone who has tried honestly and openly to mediate a problem rather than take it to court when they are considering issues like who should pay for the costs of litigation. If you have tried to mediate something and the other side refuses, this might indicate to the court that the other party is behaving deliberately unreasonably.
How Does it work ?The process is not fixed like the courts, but generally a commercial dispute mediation follows a process like this:
The parties agree to mediate and choose a mediator (or one is chosen independently) They all meet at an independent location with at least three rooms, one for all parties and two or more for the parties in disagreement (family mediation more usually is only around one table) The first person makes a statement about their case The second person makes a statement about their case The mediator then meets with each a number of times, shuttling back and forth trying to find areas of common ground and potential compromise (in a family mediation, you usually stay in the same room, although there is no fixed process) If the parties reach any agreement their agreement can be reduced to writing, like a contract |
What does it cost ?The answer is that this depends on the format. Typically a mediator (if only one is required) will cost about £150 per hour and a complex mediation will usually take 3 to 4 hours or longer, but this varies widely according to the dispute . This cost is usually shared equally between the parties by agreement. Sometimes large commercial mediations also involve lawyers as well as a mediator. This adds considerably to the expense and these costs are generally not recoverable. In court, in a commercial dispute the losing party usually has to pay some of the costs of the winner.
So the answer depends on whether you take a long time to reach a conclusion and how much help you may need from legal advisers to reach a final conclusion. What type of dispute is right for mediation ?In principle any dispute could be solved by mediation but it will depend on the willingness of the parties to be realistic and pragmatic about their prospects of success and also not to play games in the mediation or be deliberately unreasonable. In family disputes, mediation can be problematic because of the often difficult personal issues between the parties, but even if unsuccessful it can encourage people to communicate in a safe and neutral environment.
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