Mediation training

Judge Monty Trent, ADJ president, says: “It is high time for mediation and other alternative dispute resolution techniques to be part of the armoury of every civil court in higher value cases.

“Instead of private or court-annexed mediation, district judges should be trained as mediators and employ their skills in achieving settlements.

In heavy civil litigation where the parties have been unable to negotiate a settlement within three months of proceedings having commenced, judges should be able to call the parties in for a neutral evaluation in the same way we do in family cases.

Judges are highly experienced lawyers with many years of successful practice behind them. Above all they are trusted neutrals and the ideal people to sit down with the parties themselves and help them resolve their disputes.”

Judge Trent, who sits at the Mayor’s and City of London Court and was formerly based at West London and Barnet county courts, has been a full time judge for 18 years. He intends to press for legislation to make civil enforcement machinery more effective.

Describing current systems of enforcement as a “mess”, he said: “One of the great weaknesses of the court system is its failure effectively to enforce its own court orders.”

He also expressed concern about the “dilapidated” state of county court buildings.

Curbs on justice expenditure, dilapidated courts and heavy staff turnover meant the system was “beginning to creak alarmingly”, he warned, with regular complaints of delays, mistakes and missing files.
“We can expect more court closures impeding the public’s access to local justice in cases that can sometimes change peoples’ lives as, if not more, fundamentally than a prison sentence.

“Courts are confronted with heavy staff turnover and constant cuts. As staff leave, they are rarely replaced. This leads to inexperience and sometimes illness. Remaining staff struggle to cope with a mountain of paper and work.”