EMPLOYING MEDIATION TO APPROACH TRUANTS

Truants have been dealt with by state and school officials with heedlessness, suspension, expulsion, and placement under the power of the courts. One problem faced in decreasing truancy is its lack of a common definition. Statistics show high rates of truancy with kids who subsequently drop out of school and there is a strong correlation between drop-out and unemployment, welfare, low salary, and imprisonment. The juvenile justice system does not reach the root of the truant's individual problems or adequately attempt to solve or assist the child and family in its goal to develop constructive and autonomous individuals.
Mediation is an alternative to a punishment-oriented approach to truancy. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party helps participants reach their own agreement for resolving a dispute. Mediation is adaptable to the many different causes of truancy and can provide multiple benefits to truants and their families. The Ohio Commission On Dispute Resolution & Conflict Management has the most accomplished and consistently progressing truancy mediation program in the nation.
Critics of mediation have scrutinized the process for not placing enough emphasis on mediation's major elements, such as premediation instruction, exploitation of the informality of the process, and a lack of funding, which may render mediation weak and inefficient. Maintaining and emphasizing particular elements will benefit jurisdictions in their utilization of the process.     

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION PROGRAM: If At First You Succeed and Then You Don't…

This article discusses the U.A.L.R. child protection mediation program as well as several other child protection mediation programs in order to examine what makes a program a continuing success. Child protection mediation programs have gone through a period of tremendous progress and growth over the past 20 years in the United States and Canada. Numerous studies have shown that child protection mediation helps families and courts by lowering the amount of time that children spend in foster care and the amount of costs for courts and agencies. Child protection mediation is an essential tool for juvenile courts and the families that have cases there. This article addresses the development of child protection mediation programs, their importance to juvenile courts, and some reasons that these programs succeed or fail. Although many of these programs have early accomplishments, they have not always been able to maintain their growth or to continue to exist. The U.A.L.R. Mediation Project has not sustained its early levels of cases or referrals from court for numerous reasons. Using the techniques of other thriving programs, we will attempt to restart and re-energize the program. It has been established that the people who have a role in the establishment of a program, the funding sources and especially the commitment of the parties to the program all have a significant long-term impact. This article points out how programs should begin and proceed if they are to be a long-term success.     

Reframing the mediation debate in Irish all-issues divorce disputes: from mediation vs. litigation to mediation and litigation

Mediation currently plays a minor role in the Irish family justice system, yet a policy consensus exists that more couples should be encouraged to mediate and that increased rates of mediation will reduce the numbers seeking redress through the courts. The Mediation Act 2017 adopts this position, assuming that the provision of information on mediation will increase uptake and that mediation offers an alternative to litigation for most civil disputes. This article reviews attempts in Ireland, England and Wales to encourage family disputants to mediate, identifying weaknesses in the information strategy. It also examines the legal framework governing all-issues divorce and dissolution in Ireland, pointing to the limited potential for mediation to act as an alternative to litigation. It concludes by arguing that policy focus must shift away from encouraging mediation as an alternative to litigation towards more nuanced understanding of mediation as a support to court based dispute resolution.     

CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: A 25-YEAR PERSPECTIVE

This article reviews the creation, development, and growth of child protection mediation (CPM) in the United States. Starting with a few pilot projects in the 1970s, CPM has grown throughout the country. The article traces child protection's development through the publication of the Resource Guidelines and Model Courts and then discusses what the necessary ingredients for a mediation program are. Mediation is then discussed from a judicial perspective. Barriers to mediation are listed, followed by a discussion of special issues that arise when developing and maintaining CPM programs. The article concludes with the observation that CPM is now recognized as a best practice by most judges and court improvement professionals and that it continues to grow.     

人民调解与传统民间调解的关系探析

虽然传统民间调解与人民调解都是运用调解的手段来解决民间纠纷,但是对这两种纠纷解决机制之间的关系问题理论界却有着不同的观点。通过对这两种纠纷解决机制进行分析之后,本文认为,一方面,中华帝国统治制度的运作、小农经济所带来的社会结构与中国传统法律文化的合力决定了人民调解对民间调解的历史继承性;另一方面,人民调解是中国共产党在建立现代民族国家过程中的特定历史条件下所形成的独特法律制度,有其特有的逻辑性,它既不同于西方调解制度也没有完全继承中国帝制社会遗留下来的民间调解的传统。     

论强制性调解对法治和公平的冲击

调解是不发达社会主导的纠纷解决制度.在社会进化过程中,调解退化成一种基层社区自治的制度和司法程序中"依附于"判决的制度.在大型有组织社会,发达的调解与人治并存;判决的权威是法治社会的标志.东方发达的调解制度是人治社会的一部分,它不是先进文化,恰恰是东方落后于西方的重要制度原因.解放后我国调解的走俏正是我国的人治社会使然.改革开放以后判决的短期走强是社会法治冲动的产物.强制性调解构成对法治基本价值的损害.既然我国已经选择了法治之路,我们就只有选择以判决为主导的纠纷解决制度,坚持调解的自治与自愿原则,并对调解进行法律规制.     

Mediator Assessment,Documentation, and Disposition of Child Custody Cases Involving Intimate Partner Abuse: A Naturalistic Evaluation of One County’s Practices

The contentious and costly nature of the adversarial process for resolving child custody disputes has prompted scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to advocate for the development and implementation of less divisive forms of dispute resolution, notably, mediation. Mediation has been championed for its potential to resolve disputes with less acrimony among disputants, reduced economic costs, increased satisfaction with outcomes, and fewer adverse consequences for family members. Despite the increasing popularity, arguments have cautioned against the use of mandated mediation when intimate partner abuse (IPA) is alleged. This research documents a mediation screening process and models mediators’ decision-making process as instantiated, naturally, in one jurisdiction.     

中国商事调解的最新发展——以深圳国际仲裁院的创新为视角

调解在中国具有悠久的历史,至今在中国仍然是一种重要的诉讼外争议解决方式。然而,商事调解的发展并不太顺利,主要是因为调解结果不具有终局性,缺乏强制执行力,若一方当事人不自动履行,往往还需要重新通过仲裁或诉讼程序解决纠纷,反而耗时耗力。     

MEDIATION IN CHILD PROTECTION AND THE NOVA SCOTIA EXPERIENCE

In recent years, mediation has become a device used to settle disputes in the area of child protection. The first legislatively based child protection mediation program in Canada was implemented in the province of Nova Scotia in 1993. This program has been criticized for not safeguarding children from neglect and abuse, for redundancy with respect to settlements offered by child protection workers, for its nonuse of child protection workers as mediators, and for power imbalances between negotiating parties. It has also suffered from a low number of referrals to mediation. The Nova Scotia experience emphasizes the need to gain support not only from child protection agency leadership but also from frontline staff to create a stable and beneficial mediation program. Even in light of the complications with respect to child protection mediation in Nova Scotia, there is a growing interest and implementation of mediation programs throughout Canada.     

审视与评析：人民调解的十年复兴——新制度主义视角

在新制度主义看来,人民调解的复兴是各级司法行政机关在强烈扩张冲动影响下所进行的自下而上的改革。改革的核心是为了获取人民调解组织在当下中国制度环境中的正当性。在此过程中人民调解不断改变组织结构以适应制度环境对正当性的定义,因此人民调解组织的结构就日益同构化。同时,由于不同位阶的制度环境型塑了多样的正当性需求,人民调解组织的行为和结构就势必会发生断藕。新制度主义为我们评析人民调解的发展提供了全新的视角。     

Young Children in Divorce and Separation: Pilot Study of a Mediation‐Based Co‐Parenting Intervention

This article reports on a cluster randomized pilot study of a mediation‐based intervention for separated parents of very young children, Young Children in Divorce and Separation (YCIDS). The control group intervention was “Mediation plus Reading.” Participants were separated parents attending mediation over a co‐parenting dispute concerning a child under the age of 5 years (n=33 cases). Nine of the 16 key child and parent outcomes were significantly better for the intervention group, with the remainder nonsignificant between groups. Mediators reported 35 per cent lower referral on to legal action for YCIDS cases following mediation. Implementation complexities of the YCIDS program led to the development of an online intervention format, now the subject of a further study. Further implications of this pilot study are discussed.     

“当判则判”与“调判结合”——基于实务和操作层面的分析

调解优先的司法政策并不意味着调解万能,其意义在于进一步促进调解在民事诉讼中的作用,并适应社会需求,在刑事、行政领域引进协商性因素。在民事诉讼中,调解优先符合私法自治原则,当事人处分权优先于公共利益考量,除法律明确禁止或限制的情形外,调解与协商和解是当事人的权利,也是法官的义务和责任,一般不能因公共利益而否定或限制调解。我国民事诉讼法的基本原则、制度制约、当事人处分权与法院职权的结合、相应的救济机制等,可以保证调解的正当性和效益。同时,诉讼调解必然以判决作为后盾,调判结合并非选择性安排,而是司法诉讼制度的必然。从实务角度出发,准确把握调判结合的原则和尺度、规避调解风险至关重要。从长远的发展而言,调判结合仍可进一步通过制度创新实现多元功能和价值。     

离婚案件的心理调解研究

婚姻法规定离婚案件应当进行调解,但由于离婚案件除了涉及法律问题以外,更多地还会涉及到家庭伦理、情感和道德等问题。鉴于这类案件的特殊性以及法官在知识结构上的局限性,心理学方法的介入应当会从根本上提高离婚案件调解的质量,从而提高该类案件调解的成功率。主要针对当前我国离婚案件调解问题的现状提出诉讼离婚心理调解的概念,论述诉讼离婚心理调解的必要性和可行性。     

调解的重构(下)——以法院调解的改革为重点

调解作为中国自古就存在的一种纠纷解决方式 ,甚至是社会治理的一种制度性或体制性存在 ,在现代仍然有着极为重要的意义。本文采取一种综合各种功能的多元价值论 ,主张客观地认识调解的各种功能和价值。同时 ,力图通过对于以法院调解改革为重点获取的实证资料的分析 ,提出一种有关我国调解的功能和价值的建设性的意见或理论框架 ,实现一种对于调解的重构 ,以使其获得现代转型和重生。     

调解的重构(上)——以法院调解的改革为重点

调解作为中国自古就存在的一种纠纷解决方式 ,甚至是社会治理的一种制度性或体制性存在 ,在现代仍然有着极为重要的意义。本文采取一种综合各种功能的多元价值论 ,主张客观地认识调解的各种功能和价值。同时 ,力图通过对于以法院调解改革为重点获取的实证资料的分析 ,提出一种有关我国调解的功能和价值的建设性的意见或理论框架 ,实现一种对于调解的重构 ,以使其获得现代转型和重生。     

Critical Reflections on the Proposal for a Mediation Act for Scotland

This article critically analyses the recent proposal to introduce a Mediation (Scotland) Bill. The proposed Bill aims to introduce a novel process of court-initiated mediation that will oblige litigating parties to attend a mandatory Mediation Information Session. Adopting a comparative approach with the English and Irish civil justice systems, this article analyses the key elements of the proposed Bill and makes proposals to improve it.     

BUILDING A CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION PROGRAM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Effective implementation of mediation programs on a large scale is a complex challenge. This article describes the process of design and implementation of a child protection mediation model and highlights the challenges and successes involved in leading fundamental culture shifts within the child welfare system over a period of eleven years.     

社会转型中的行政调解制度

社会转型对作为“东方经验”的行政调解提出了新的挑战。行政调解的内涵随着公共行政的出现而得到更新,行政调解的众多不足在社会转型中也渐渐显露。在新的历史条件下,我们应该借鉴西方ADR中调解的经验,尽快制定行政调解法,从行政调解范围、程序和法律保障等方面完善行政调解制度,并将信访机构纳入行政调解体系。     

刑事和解制度论纲

平衡理论、叙说理论和恢复正义理论是当今西方刑事和解理论中流行的三种解说,其中恢复正义是刑事和解最重要的理论基础。在我国刑事司法领域中,并不存在严格意义的刑事和解制度。基于刑事和解在被害恢复与加害恢复方面的双重价值,应当对此制度进行合理化的借鉴,构建刑事和解的中国模式。