Justice Reform Initiatives ~ Early Solutions, Faster Justice

Civil Justice Reform Projects

Court Mediation Program Established

The Court Mediation Program (CMP) began as a pilot program in Vancouver and Surrey in 1998. The goals of the program are:

• to expand the pool of trained and experienced mediators in the province,
• to provide free mediation services to parties in Small Claims Court disputes, and
• to reduce pressure on the Provincial Court.

In the practicum component of the CMP, trained but inexperienced mediators practice their mediation skills by mediating small claims disputes in a structured, supervised setting. Following a positive evaluation, the CMP was expanded and it now operates in 5 registries: Vancouver (Robson Square), Surrey, North Vancouver, Nanaimo and Victoria.

In CMP, registries all construction cases are referred to mediation and a limited number of other cases are randomly referred. In approximately 55% of cases all issues are resolved, and party satisfaction rates are very high.

The CMP is operated by a non-profit organization, the BC Dispute Resolution Practicum Society.

For more information about the Court Mediation Program, visit its website.

To read an evaluation of the CMP, see "An Evaluation of the Effectiveness
of the Court Mediation Practicum Project as a Training Program. " [PDF]