Half of cases sent to mediation centres resolved

IPOH: About 50% of cases sent to the mediation centres throughout the country have been resolved without a full trial.
Chief Justice Tun Raus Sharif said this proved that the mediation centres were an effective methodology in the effort to save on legal processing time and also assist the court to reduce overdue cases.
For example, he said at the Shah Alam Court Mediation Centre, last year showed positive developments in which about 45% or 126 out of 282 cases in the High Court were resolved and 58% or 381 out of 659 cases in the Sessions Court were also resolved via mediation.
"I believe that if this mediation can be practised successfully, the objective of the judiciary to resolve the case within a specified time frame can be achieved.
"I urge lawyers to support this mediation programme by advising their clients to select this mediation process as a way of settling cases. Furthermore, the court's mediation programme is free of charge," he said.
He said this when speaking at the opening of Ipoh Court Mediation Centre (ICMC) at the Ipoh High Court here today, attended by Chief Justice of Malaya Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop and Ipoh High Court Judge Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali.
According to Raus, it was important for all law practitioners to appreciate and understand the concept of mediation and the way they should be used or practised.
He also pointed out that the use of mediation also had many advantages and good.
"The parties at odds with each other will not be hostile compared to the decisions made through a trial. In the mediation, there is no winning or losing parties, both sides win and saved the court's time," he said.
But Raus said that cases brought to the mediation centre did not mean that they were removed from the court system and when cases were resolved via mediation, the consent order would be recorded in the files concerned.
ICMC is the fifth mediation centre established in the country while the Kuala Lumpur Court was the first mediation centre established in 2011 followed by the Johor Baru, Shah Alam and Penang Courts. — Bernama