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

(f) Hong Kong
5.124 Divorce is a growing problem in Hong Kong. The number of divorce
cases has increased sharply over the past two decades. In 1981, 2,811 divorce
petitions were filed. The figure rose to 6,767 in 1990 and to 13,737 in 2001. 144
5.125 In 1997, the Chief Justice of Hong Kong appointed a Working Group
to consider a pilot scheme for the introduction of mediation into family law
litigation in Hong Kong. In its report completed in 1999, the Working Group
recommended that a three-year pilot scheme be run to test the effectiveness of
mediation in resolving matrimonial disputes in Hong Kong. 145 Other
recommendations of the Working Group included:
Litigants should be given the choice of mediators from a list of those
qualified, including mediators from the Social Welfare Department,
non-government organisations and those from private practice;
A certain number of mediation sessions should be provided free of
charge under the pilot scheme to encourage litigants to try the service;
A post of full-time Mediation Co-ordinator, with the support of a full-time
secretary and a clerk, should be created;
The Mediation Co-ordinator's Office should be accommodated in the
Family Court to give a clear indication to legal practitioners and litigants
of the court's full support for mediation; and
As lawyers were expected to be the chief agents for referral to
mediation, it was recommended that lawyers should be obliged to
advise their clients of the availability of mediation services and to give
information leaflets on mediation prepared by the Co-ordinator to their
clients. As proof of this, it was recommended that lawyers should be
required to file with the court a "Certificate as to Mediation" form. It was
recommended that the Certificate should be introduced by way of a
Practice Direction issued by the Chief Justice. 146
144 Evaluation Study on The Pilot Scheme on Family Mediation: Final Report (A
Consultancy Study Commissioned by the Judiciary Of the Hong Kong Special
Administration Region, January 2004) at 1. Available at
http://www.judiciary.gov.hk/en/publications/hkpu_finalreport.pdf.
145 See Report of the Working Group to Consider a Pilot Scheme for the Introduction
of Mediation into Family Law Litigation in Hong Kong (1999).
146 Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong Report The Family Dispute Resolution
Process (LRC HK March 2003) at 18.
200