Mediation (Scotland) Bill
Margaret Mitchell MSP has recently introduced a proposal for a Mediation (Scotland) Bill as the first step in the process for a Member's bill. Its aims are to increase the use of mediation and to increase the consistency of mediation services. It proposes a new mediation process for courts and litigating parties to follow each time that a civil case comes to court.
This process will involve parties being required to complete a self-test questionnaire and then attend a mediation information session with a court appointed mediator to determine whether mediation may be a suitable way to resolve the dispute. If parties want to go ahead with mediation after having attended the mediation information session they will need to appoint a mediator (who they will have to pay for) and sign up to a mediation commencement agreement. If the mediation is successful they would then sign a mediation settlement agreement. If parties don't want to go ahead with the mediation they are free to proceed with the litigation after the mediation information session has taken place.
The consultation on the proposal will close on 20 August 2019.
Scottish Civil Justice Council Update
The Scottish Civil Justice Council published its latest newsletter, Update at the beginning of May. It provides an update on the Council's ongoing work noting that the work on the Rules Rewrite Project has been postponed and is expected to be delayed until January 2020. It also gives a summary of recent rules and committee activity.
