Judge Heidi HeggdalOslo District Court

Norwegian Experiences Related to Court Mediation

I. IntroductionCourt mediation in Norway

A lawsuit is filed before the court

In court with judges as mediators

All judges can mediate

HistoryTrial project

1st of January 1997: Five district courts and one appeal court

1st of January 1999: Trial project expanded, Oslo District court joined

Gradually more and more courts joined

New Civil Procedure Code 1st of January 2008Court mediation is now incorporated in our

Civil Procedure Code

Why Court Mediation?In the legislative background for the trial

projects:

FasterCheaperNo publicityFlexibleNo winners or losers

Why not?The critics of the Trial Project said:

Its not much fasterIf the mediation fails, its more expensive and

time consuming than litigationThe role of the judge becomes unclear for the

partiesThe general publics trust in the court system

and the judges will be degraded.

Evaluation of the Trial Project

Court Mediation in Norway in numbers Has Court Mediation resulted in higher numbers of

settlements?Trial project evaluation:

Knoff indicated in his research a slight increase in settlements From 37% to 42%

How many of the civil cases are mediated?Trial Project evaluation: about 20%2008-2011 (after the new Civil Procedure Code)

2008:18% 2009:19% 2010:16% 2011:14%

Does Court Mediation work? Trial Project: 80% of the mediated cases were settled 2008-2011, about 60% of the mediated cases were settled

From the court get the case, until the case is solved is in average about 60-65% of the time of a litigated case.

ConclusionCourt Mediation is effective, both for the

parties and the court.Court Mediation has not degraded the

publics trust in the courts in NorwayCourt Mediation is here to stay.

Court Mediation, the procedureCivil Procedure Code, Chapter 8.

The judge has by law a duty to consider the possibility of solving the case by negotiation or mediation unless the case is not fit to be settled

All civil cases can be mediated except:Family custody cases

We got another procedure for these casesChildren welfare cases and some others

The parties will be asked both in writing and by the judge that is handed the case if they agree to Court Mediation

Telephone conference to plan the handling of the case

If they agreeThe case will be given a date for mediation,

normally within a couple of months

The mediator can not handle the case after the mediation, if the case is not settled. New judge for the litigation.

The mediation processFirst meeting all togetherSeparate meetingConfidentialityIn-court settlement (public)Out-of- court settlement (not public)

All judges can mediate, in our court you are allowed to say no

Mediators need education and practice

Specialists among the Judges

Court Mediation in the futureMore cases, more complicated cases, less

mediation or more mediation?

Average time from filing a lawsuit to the case is finished is now about ½ a year in Norwegian District Courts

Competition from lawyers and other competent mediators and negotiators

In Norway its not an option not to offer the parties Court Mediation

Court Mediation is considered an important alternative to litigation, by judges, lawyers and parties

In the future we should explore the possibilities to get more cases mediated. There is definitely room for improvement.