This  Workshop on The Mediation Act 2017 is on the 20th of September at the Maldron Hotel in Smithfield in Dublin. The topics covered will include a guide to the Mediation Act 2017 for both Solicitors and Mediators, the Mediators’ obligations, regulation of the area of Mediation, Mediation and the Courts, Solicitors obligations and drafting Mediated agreements. Additionally the workshop will cover cross border Mediation and online Mediation.

Susan Appelbe of Appelbe Mediation is a Munster based Mediator with legal expertise. Susan Mediates nationwide however mostly in Cork, West Cork, Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Waterford and Dublin

“How should the Courts Know Whether a Dispute is Ready and Suitable for Mediation? An Empirical Analysis of the Singapore Courts’ Referral of Civil Disputes to Mediation’ is a useful and interesting analysis of Mediation undertaken by a Singapore University.

The study found that factors such as the time of referral, the stage of the case at referral and the level of contentiousness between the parties had a noted impact on the probability of success. They found that a delay in the time of referral of a case to mediation by just one month results in an astonishing three percent decline in the likelihood of settlement. The stage of litigation matters as well. Cases referred to Mediation at an earlier stage — at the close of pleadings — were more likely to be settled than cases that had already advanced to the interlocutory or pre-trial stage. Finally, a higher level of contentiousness between disputants was also associated with a drop in the likelihood of settlement.

Other factors that affect the success of Mediation include a lower monetary value in dispute, as well as features of the mediation process itself, such as the time taken to complete the Mediation and whether the Mediator is legally trained, the study found.

These findings suggest that the courts should not focus solely on the timing and stage of referral, but should also broaden their assessment to include other factors uncovered by the study that indicate the readiness of a dispute for Mediation, say the researchers.

“By shedding light on the important factors that affect settlement outcome and the satisfaction levels of parties towards the Mediation process, we hope that this study will help to inform the policies and practices of judiciaries in Singapore and elsewhere,” says Professor Chua. “It is only through a more nuanced approach that the benefits of Mediation in the context of litigation can be maximised.”

Susan Appelbe of Appelbe Mediation is a Munster based Mediator with legal expertise, having trained and worked as a solicitor, after having got her Law Degree from Trinity College Dublin. Susan now works in the legal side of Mediation and does not currently work as a solicitor. Susan Mediates nationwide however mostly in Munster, specifically Cork, West Cork, Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Waterford and Dublin. Susan is from Bandon in West Cork and lives in Douglas in Cork City.

It is disappointing to see that the Media has given some inaccurate information to the public in relation to Mediation in the reporting of the Cervical Cancer Controversy.

President of the Mediators’ institute of Ireland Sabine Walsh expressed her disappointment at the “misleading and inaccurate” information in the Media about Mediation.

Sabine Walsh pointed to inaccuracies in relation to costs and  time schedules required for Mediation. She also pointed to inaccuracies reported pertaining to the qualifications of the members of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland.

Sabine Walsh continues to repeat  some of the well known benefits of Mediation over the court process, including speed, lower costs and less stress.