MIAMs (mediation information and assessment meetings) could be expanded in scope to include civil cases, Lord Neuberger has said.
Speaking at the Civil Mediation Conference in London last week, the President of the Supreme Court expressed caution about compulsory mediation, but said he felt there might be some merit in extending the MIAM scheme for family cases to smaller civil cases.
MIAMs might also suit certain contract-based disputes, such as possession claims based on nuisance and annoyance, he said, and a clause requiring mediation at least in some types of case could be included in every council or housing association tenancy agreement, or in standard form private sector tenancy agreements provided a reasonably experienced mediator could be found.
He noted that one of the main reasons for mediation failing was that it takes place prematurely.
