Mandatory Mediation Outside the Court: A Process and Effect Study
Tjersland, O., Gulbrandsen, W. and Haavind, H. (2015), Mandatory Mediation outside the Court: A Process and Effect Study. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 33: 19–34. doi: 10.1002/crq.21129
Posted: 18 Oct 2015
Date Written: June 19, 2015
Abstract
In a study of 154 couples in precourt mandatory mediation in Norway, a majority of the thirty-eight high-conflict (HC) cases left the mediation after two sessions and without any agreements. Eighteen months later, five of ten HC couples were still without an agreement. With seven sessions available free of charge, the mediation system seems to fail at helping the HC cases. The authors discuss some of the challenges that are attached to a mandatory mediation system. One explanation seems to be the attempt to fulfill several ambitions with the same intervention. Some ideas for improvement of the system are introduced.
Keywords: mandatory mediation, norway, high-conflict, couple, intervention, process, effect
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