MEDIATION IN HONG KONG

The Development of Mediation in Hong Kong

The Development of Mediation in Hong Kong

Introduction

Court proceedings are expensive, time consuming, formal, and inflexible. Thus an alternative dispute resolution process named as “Mediation” provides disputing parties and opportunity to settle their disputes outside of the typical judicial process and avoid these time consuming process. Mediation is a way of resolving conflicts between two or more people, with the help of an impartial third party, “the mediator” (Folberg, 2004, 66). Mediators can be students, teachers, or parents. They are not judges or arbitrators, not impose solutions or say about who has the truth, what they want is to meet the needs of the parties in dispute, regulating the communication process and driving through a few simple steps that, if the parties collaborate, it is possible to reach a solution in which everyone wins, or at least satisfied.

Mediation Process Steps

Mediation is a series of stages in which mediator promotes communication and understanding between the parties in conflict. It enrich the use of the disciplinary regulations of the center, offering alternatives through dialogue, and avoiding the loss of interesting relationships and the experience of feelings of misunderstanding.

Premeditation: it is Phase prior to the mediation itself; it creates conditions that facilitate access to mediation. In this mediator talks with the parties separately, explain the process to be followed and requested consent to go to mediation (Boulle, 2005, 115).

Presentation and rules: under this category mediator is dedicated in creating trust between the mediation team and the middle, he also presents the process and rules to be followed in the mediation.

Tell me: it is a stage where people are exposed to mediated version of the conflict with the feelings that accompany it. The parties are to be heard.

Clarify the problem: in this phase mediator is dedicated in identifying conflicting nodes, the points of convergence and divergence of the same. It seeks to establish a common platform on the most important issues that must be solved.

Propose solutions: in this phase mediator is dedicated to find creative solutions and evaluating them by the parties.

Agree. Under this phase mediator clearly define the agreements. These have to be balanced, specific, and possible. It is also often take the time to agree on a procedure for reviewing and monitoring thereof (Agardy, 2009, 135).

Mediation is voluntary, confidential, and is based on dialogue. Mediation can resolve disputes related to breach of the rules. In this paper I am going to evaluate the development of Mediation in Hong Kong.

Advantages of Mediation

Hong Kong wanted the development of proper Mediation in because it provides various advantages to the nation and it citizens. Some of the advantages are:

Establishes a constructive and supportive environment.

Establish effective communication between parties

Facilitates to have control over the result of their dispute

It is a cost effective, confidential, and time efficient process

It does not impose settlement

Facilitates and teach the parties an effective way of resolving the problems through co-operative decision making.

In Hong Kong Mediation has be used since early 1980s specifically to resolve disputes related ...