KUALA LUMPUR: A 12-month pilot project on court-referred family mediation will begin on Nov 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Penang and Johor Baru, offering families an alternative to lengthy court battles.
The initiative aims to help reduce the backlog of family law cases through mediation.
The mediators, all specially trained in family mediation, will provide their services free of charge.
The Malaysian Bar said mediation offered a less adversarial way of resolving disputes, allowing parties to reach mutually acceptable solutions, particularly in cases involving children and family relationships.
Unlike contested court proceedings, mediation encourages parties to work towards an agreement themselves, potentially helping to preserve relationships and minimise conflict.
The pilot project will complement existing court-annexed mediation, providing another avenue for families to settle disputes without prolonged litigation.
In a circular dated Oct 15 sighted by The Star, the Malaysian Bar urged lawyers handling family matters in the participating courts to support the initiative and encourage suitable clients to consider mediation.
The move comes amidst wider efforts by the judiciary to ease the backlog of cases through mediation.
Last week, The Star reported a directive that took effect on Oct 1, requiring road accident cases to undergo court-annexed mediation before a trial date is fixed.
The initiative aims to encourage earlier settlements and reduce the number of civil cases proceeding to trial.
The directive, which applies to High Courts and subordinate courts nationwide, strengthens the use of mediation to resolve civil disputes more efficiently.
It also seeks to free up court time and resources by reducing the number of cases that proceed to full trial.
For road accident claims, the directive said mediation would address liability or the amount of compensation (quantum) after basic documents, including preliminary medical reports, police reports, accident sketches, and photographs, had been filed through the e-Court system.
Where both liability and quantum are resolved through mediation, the directive stated that the case would be considered successfully mediated.
If only one issue is resolved, judgment will be recorded on that issue while the unresolved matter proceeds to trial.
In December last year, after helming the judiciary for about 100 days, Wan Ahmad Farid admitted that the deeper crisis faced by the courts is the backlog.
He said hiring more judges would offer only a temporary solution.
Wan Ahmad Farid added that the real pressure valve lies in expanding mediation, handled by trained professionals rather than court officers.
