Mediation in the Singapore Family Justice Courts: Examining the Mediation Model Under the Judge-Led Approach

Abstract

In order to reduce acrimony and the adversarial quality of family litigation, the Singapore family justice framework went through an overhaul in 2014. Chief among the changes was the creation of the Family Justice Rules (“FJR”) unique to the newly constituted Family Justice Courts. The FJR are meant to reflect a new judicial philosophy for family law disputes, with a “judge-led” approach mandated by Rule 22 of the FJR. As part of the directions a court may give in the exercise of this “judge-led” approach, Rule 22(3)(a) introduces a new, express power for the court to direct that parties attend mediation or counselling. This paper seeks to examine the impact of the judge-led approach on mediation in the Family Justice Courts. How and when is the judge to exercise the power under Rule 22(3)(a) to mandate mediation or counselling? What would the relevant factors for consideration be? Is the judge the best person to make the call? What would be the role of counsel in assisting the judge to make this decision? Drawing from academic literature and practices in other jurisdictions, this paper makes recommendations to guide family judges in exercising their power under Rule 22(3)(a) and considers future areas for research.

Keywords: Mandatory Mediation, Family Mediation, Court-Based Medition, Family Justice Courts, ADR