Institutionalising mediation? An evaluation of the Exeter Court small claims mediation pilot

Abstract

The DCA are currently institutionalising the use of mediation as a method of alternative dispute resolution in the courts in England and Wales. This paper analyses a small claims mediation pilot service which is in operation at Exeter County Court for disputes on the small claims track. The scheme has a 65 per cent settlement rate and litigants who have taken part in mediation have, on the whole, expressed satisfaction with the scheme. Yet of more concern is the possibility that institutionalising informal methods of dispute resolution into more formal court processes may raise substantial issues in relation to quality of standards, the training of court-appointed mediators and litigants-in-person understanding of how mediation works. It is argued that these issues need to be considered before mediation can be successfully integrated into the civil legal system.