The Legal Status and Enforceability of Mediated Settlement Agreements
![handle is hein.journals/hiblj12 and id is 11 raw text is: The Legal Status and Enforceability of
Mediated Settlement Agreements
DR RONAN FEEHILY'
Provision for mediation has been made in various pieces of Irish legislation.
In the area of family law it is provided for in the Judicial Separation and
Family Law Reform Act, 19892, the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 19961 and
the Children Act, 1997.4 Each Act imposes a legal obligation on solicitors to
discuss with their clients the possibility of engaging in mediation as an alternative
to contentious family law proceedings.
The Labour Relations Commission offers a voluntary mediation process
where an external professional mediator assists employers and their employees
to resolve disputes when they are unable to reach agreement between them.'
In the area of equality, the Director of Equality Investigations offers a voluntary
mediation service in disputes under the Employment Equality Act 19986 and
the Equal Status Act 2000.7 Similarly, the Department of the Environment
established a Private Residential Tenancies Board to deal with Landlord and
Tenant disputes. The Board deals with disputes to conclusion with appeals
to the Courts only on points of law. The Board's Dispute Resolution process
includes a voluntary mediation service.! The Civil Liability and Courts Act
2004, which deals primarily with personal injuries litigation, provides that
at the request of either party a court may at any time before trial direct that
the parties meet to discuss and attempt to settle the action in what is described
by the Act as a 'mediation conference'.' Similarly in the area of social inclusion,
provision has been made for the resolution of disputes by mediation.'I
Under the rules governing the Commercial Court, a judge has the power
to adjourn the proceedings in order to allow the parties to consider whether
the dispute ought to be referred to mediation. This option can be exercised
at a very early stage at the Initial Directions Hearing, where the Commercial
Dr Ronin Feehily, Honorary Fellow of Commercial Law, Durham University
2 Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 (No.6 of 1989), s.6
Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (No.33 of 1996), s.6
4 Children Act 1997 (No.40 of 1997), s.20
See www.1rc.ie [Accessed on 27 September 2012]
6 Employment Equality Act 1998 (No.21 of 1998), s.78
7 Equal Status Act 2000 (No.8 of 2000), s.24(1)
I Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (No.27 of 2000), s.164
9 Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. See also Liam Kennedy and Aoife Gaughan
Growth of Commercial Mediation IBA Legal Practice Division, Mediation Committee
Newsletter April 2005
1 See for example s.19, Disability Act 2005 and s.55, Social Care Professionals Act 2005.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/hiblj12&div=5&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Legal Status and Enforceability of Mediated Settlement Agreements
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