Since April 2011 a court rule referred to as a pre-application protocol has made provision for people to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (a 'MIAM's') before commencing financial proceedings or proceedings in respect of children.  At present this is not an absolute requirement and the protocol uses the word 'should' rather than 'must. In addition there are a number of exceptions to this 'encouragement' which apply where there has been domestic abuse, bankruptcy or the proposed application is urgent within a given definition.  

The pre-action protocol stipulates that before an applicant makes an application to the court, contact should be made with a family mediator to arrange for the applicant to attend a meeting about family mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.  If the parties are willing to attend together, the meeting may be conducted jointly but, where necessary, separate meetings may be held.  If the parties do not attend a joint meeting, the mediator who undertakes the MIAM's will invite the other party to a separate meeting.  

At a MIAM's the mediator will provide the parties with information about the range of alternatives to litigation which, in addition, to mediation include using the collaborative process or arbitration.  The expectation was that mediators would highlight the benefits of such alternatives compared to the court process in terms of time, expense and stress.  In practice it may take several weeks to organise a 'face to face' MIAM's although some mediators will do them by telephone or using skype.  The cost is usually £150 to £300 per person.

When the pre-action protocol was introduced, it was expected that attendance at a MIAM's would be the norm and that the court would strongly discourage individuals from starting proceedings without having attended a MIAM's.  The stated aim was to encourage people to find solutions to their problems ouside of the court environment. In practice this has aften not been the case and the court has rarely tried to insist on a MIAM's as a pre-condition to a court application.  The evidence suggests that the number of people actually taking part in mediation has fallen.

However, the situation is likely to change in the not too distant future.  Assuming it becomes law the Children and Families Bill will make MIAM's compulsory for all couples.  This Bill is unlikely to be passed before spring 2014 but should then make it much more difficult to avoid a MIAM's.

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