The Gazette 1986

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GAZETTE APRIL 1986
INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE
Vol. No. 80 No. 4
In this issue . . .
Mixed Soccer Tournament 120
Ladies Golfing Society 120
Fatal Injuries and Title to Sue 126
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
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.
MAY 1986
Commen t . ..
. . . Family Mediation Service
The 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).
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