A High Court judge has hailed the importance of mediation, suggesting it could soon be used for criminal cases as well as civil procedures.
Mr Justice Ramsey claimed that this form of dispute resolution could be appropriate for low-level and white-collar crimes, giving the Crown Prosecution Service additional options during plea bargaining negotiations, according to the Law Society Gazette.
The judge predicted London solicitors and legal representatives from all over the UK could see legislation introduced in the next ten years that would force them to attempt mediation in civil cases, while it will likely become an option in criminal procedures.
He said: "I have a six-month fraud trial with eight defendants starting shortly. That will be a very expensive trial of white-collar crime and is precisely the sort of case that could be mediated in a system where criminal mediation was accepted."
Speaking to a Chartered Institute of Arbitors symposium in London, he stressed that mandatory mediation would not be the most desirable direction to take, since it is better left as a process that people enter into voluntarily.
New president of the Manchester Law Society Jeff Lewis recently told the Manchester Evening News that one of the major changes in the legal world during his time in the profession has been the increased focus on mediation.
He also pointed out that the speed at which cases move forward has accelerated rapidly over the years, with things happening "in an instant" now compared to when he first started out.
