The Gazette 1986

GAZETTE

APRIL

1986

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE Vol. No. 80 No. 4 In this issue . . . Comment 107 Mediation in Family Disputes 109 Mediation — Professional and Practice Issues . . . I l l State Family Mediation Service 114 Practice Notes 116 Minutes of the Half-Yearly Meeting 119 Mixed Soccer Tournament 120 Ladies Golfing Society 120 Presentation of Parchments 122 Mayo Bar Association 124 Dáil Debates 125 Fatal Injuries and Title to Sue 126 Irish Solicitor Appears before Privy Council 130 Book Reviews 131 Correspondence 133 Professional Information 134 Executive Editor: Mary Buckley Editorial Board: William Earley, Chairman John F. Buckley Gary Byrne Geraldine Clarke Michael V. O'Mahony Maxwell Sweeney Advertising: Liam O hOisin, Telephone 305236 Printing: Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford

MAY 1986

Commen t . ..

. . . Family Mediation Service T he Minister for State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for Women's Affairs, Ms. Nuala Fennell, has recently approved the appointment of a co- ordinator for the new state funded Family Mediation Service. The service has also acquired a premises in Dublin, and is about to commence training at least four mediators, selected from, it is believed 172 applicants, most of high quality. This must be an optimistic beginning for what is undoubtedly, for the legal profession a desirable development. For too long, solicitors practising in the family law area have been conscious of their lack of professional competence to deal with the 'emotional' ingredient in such cases, which tends to blur the parties' capacity to look logically at what the law and the legal process can or cannot hope to achieve. Articles in this issue seek to define what mediation is all about. What it is not is 'marriage counselling' which is about helping a couple to reconcile their differences so that the marriage will continue. What it is, in summary, is the attempt by the two parties to a marriage, which has irreparably broken down, to work out their differences, with the assistance of a mediator with lawyers then coming in to formalise any agreements reached, covering such matters as custody of children, maintenance and ownership of property. The purpose of mediation is not simply to reduce the pain associated with the breakdown of marriage. While a mediation process may, and if well conducted should, diminish the pain associated with the breakdown of marriage, its primary function is to help the couple concerned to rearrange their lives, following the breakdown of the marriage, and to renegotiate their continuing relationships, on a basis that will be tailor- made to both the present and the future needs of the couple themselves and any children of the marriage. Those who favour the mediation process as a means of resolving confrontation between spouses, believe that mediation, in which the parties, with the assistance of a mediator work out their own agreements, should produce a better solution, and a better relationship for the future, than would be produced where the parties delegate the negotiation function to others, for example their lawyers. In countries where mediation has been tested (e.g. U.S. and Canada) it has been found that the mediated agreements tend to be more lasting and (continued on p. 110). 107

The views expressed in this publication, save where other- wise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.