Case Studies
Sheriff Court Mediations
Court mediation schemes started in Scotland with a project run by the Citizens Advice Bureau for Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The trial was funded by the Scottish Office and covers party litigants with small and summary cause claims. Mediators work on a voluntary basis. Initially the mediations were held in empty witness waiting rooms. Once the success of the scheme was demonstrated, two purpose designed mediation rooms were built.
The pilot started with single mediators and sometimes a learner observer. It is now common practice for there to be two mediators, a lead and a co-mediator. This has various advantages. The mediators can discuss the mediation and a second mediator may notice things that the lead mediator missed. There are opportunities to learn from other mediators and share good practice.
Training for mediators was held to inform them about the legal aspects of the court proceedings and useful meetings were also held with the sheriffs.
Building on the success of the Edinburgh project, pilot schemes were introduced into Glasgow and Aberdeen Sheriff Courts in 2006. These differed from the Edinburgh scheme in that ordinary cause disputes were included, parties could be represented and the mediators were remunerated for larger cases. Under both these schemes there were two mediators. These pilots have now concluded and the findings have been reported.
A new six month pilot scheme is starting in Airdrie, this time not part of the court system but based on referrals from agencies.
Daphne Wassermann of Cadogans has acted as a mediator for the Edinburgh project on a regular basis since March 2004. The subject of the mediations has ranged widely, including landlord/tenant disputes, building and construction problems, vehicle sales and service, advertising, employment and even a dead parrot.
Mrs Wassermann is now also on the panel for the Airdrie pilot.
