Is mandatory mediation effective in the context of Maltese family breakdown litigation?

Abstract

Disputes in general have existed since time immemorial, and family issues are also common occurrences, especially since it is rather natural for disagreements to arise within a family. In family disputes, the well-being of the family members is at stake. When things worsen, the court was and still is a place where to solve matters that aggravated and to decide the issue at hand by letting a judge rule the matter accordingly. As time progressed, a tribunal was seen to be an impartial body, offering fairness, equality, and justice to those who truly deserve it. Nevertheless, there were still some opinions that the court did not always give a voice to everyone and some matters could be solved without the need of resorting to litigation. These notions eventually resulted in Alternative Dispute Resolution being introduced. Alternative Dispute Resolution is a procedure that is done out of court, where an unbiased party assists the parties involved to come to terms on particular disputes. It is said to be faster and easier than litigation as well as being far less expensive than going to court. Mediation in Malta was introduced in 2004 by the Mediation Act, and ever since then, mediation has been a compulsory procedure prior to taking the case to court. The courthouse is not a place where the parties involved make decisions, but rather where the judge decides based on the case at hand, which does not always appear to be a fair result to those involved. The truth is that most often, in litigation, this is not always possible and it often takes years to solve family disputes. Mediation offers the parties the chance to arrive at solutions between and more importantly for themselves, without other parties getting in the way. Litigants, especially families, most often choose systems that are comfortable, quick, and affordable, and mediation seeks to encompass such notions.