Consultation Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution - Law Reform ...

not resolve the matter, a hearing date may be set. Even then, cases are
sometimes resolved at a pre-trial conference. In care and protection cases, the
child can request a mediation conference. If a child requests a mediation
conference, the Court must arrange one. 133 Family Court judges held
approximately 3000 mediation conferences in 2000. 134
5.117 In response to the New Zealand‘s Law Reform Commission Report
on Dispute Resolution in the Family Court recommendation that non-judge-led
mediation be introduced into the Family Court as part of a new conciliation
service, the Government established a family mediation pilot. Family mediation
was piloted in North Shore, Hamilton, Porirua and Christchurch Family Courts
between March 2005 and June 2006. 135
5.118 The four pilot courts adopted different practices with respect to
referral. In Christchurch, referral to family mediation was the ‗default‘ option,
and the referral was discontinued if it was subsequently determined to be not
appropriate. This court completed the most mediations. In the other pilot courts
the practice tended to be that cases were identified as appropriate for family
mediation by the Family Court Coordinator (FCC) using the guidelines provided,
or were referred by judges, or were recommended for family mediation by
counsel or counsellors. 136
5.119 A study was undertaken to enable the Ministry of Justice in 2007 to
identify any implementation issues, assess the costs of the pilot, and assess the
experiences of the various participants, including their satisfaction with the
process. It considered matters such as referrals and attendance, immediate
outcomes of mediation and returns to court by the parties. 137
5.120 From March 2005 to June 2006, 540 Family Court cases were
offered family mediation and of these, 380 (70%) were referred to mediators. Of
the 380 cases referred to mediation, 354 (93%) entered pre-mediation, and 321
(84%) completed pre-mediation. Of those who completed pre-mediation, 284
cases (88%) proceeded to mediation, and 37 (12%) did not. The main reasons
133 See paragraph 5.63, above.
134 See Law Commission of New Zealand Report on Dispute Resolution in the
Family Court (NZLC Report No. 82, 2003) at 69.
135
Barwick and Gray Family Mediation - Evaluation of the Pilot: Report for the
Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice, 2007). Available at
http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/reports/2007/family-mediation-evaluation-ofpilot/ex-summary.html.
136 Ibid. at 11.
137 Ibid.
198