MEDIATION IN THE NEW DISPUTE RESOLUTION LANDSCAPE; A CASE FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF ITS APPLICATION IN MALAYSIA NURAH SABAHIAH BINTI MOHAMED FACULTY OF LAW UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2013 MEDIATION IN THE NEW DISPUTE RESOLUTION LANDSCAPE; A CASE FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF ITS APPLICATION IN MALAYSIA NURAH SABAHIAH BINTI MOHAMED THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY FACULTY OF LAW UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2013 UNIVERSITI MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate : Nurah Sabahiah Mohamed (I.C. No: 710625-03-5286) Registration/ Matric No: LHA 070003 Name of Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Mediation in the New Dispute Resolution Landscape; A Case for the Enhancement of Its Application in Malaysia Field of Study: Mediation I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for any permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor I do ought reasonably to know the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained. (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action as may be determined by UM. Candidate’s Signature……………………… Date______________ (Nurah Sabahiah Binti Mohamed) Subscribed and solemnly declared before; Witness’s Signature_________________ Date_______________ Name_____________________________ Designation___________ ii ABSTRACT This dissertation supports the paradigm shift in the administration of the civil justice system that strives for disputes to be resolved without adjudication. Various measures have been introduced and adopted in many jurisdictions across the common law world to achieve this overriding objective. It cannot be denied that alternative dispute resolution processes play an important and fundamental part in furthering and attaining this principal goal of the new procedural philosophy. The focal point of this dissertation in on the ‘mediation’ as an option for resolving disputes. Mediation, as a form of dispute resolution mechanism, is widely used to facilitate settlement of disagreements across many industries and nature of disputes. The mediation movement continues to gain momentum and popularity in more and more jurisdictions. The civil courts in these jurisdictions are beginning to utilize this mechanism to address and help overcome the tensions or recurrent challenges such as delay, costs and the backlog of cases in the civil justice system. The central theme of this dissertation is the role of mediation in speeding up the disposal of cases, relieving backlog of cases in the civil courts and giving convenient disposals for the disputing parties. Mediation should be regarded and adopted as an imperative component of the dispute resolution landscape in Malaysia. The greater use of private mediation will reduce the volume of cases filed into the civil court and the structured approach of court annexed mediation will speed up the disposal of cases and reducing the number of backlog cases. Therefore the dissertation proposes mediation to be enhanced at these two levels; the private mediation or non court mediation and at the stage of court annexed mediation. This dissertation takes the position that the civil justice system in Malaysia should encourage, facilitate and even mandate the use of mediation in the dispute resolution process. While mediation may not be the sole means to alleviate the problems relating to the delay and backlog of cases, it is submitted that mediation plays a pivotal role in combating the issues encountered by the civil justice systems in most jurisdictions. In this regard, this dissertation will analyse, the suitability of mediation in Malaysia, the problem of backlog cases in the civil court, the manner in which mediation is most effective and attractive for Malaysians and the effective application of private mediation and court annexed mediation in Malaysia. This dissertation will also scrutinize the use of mediation in other jurisdictions, particularly Singapore and Australia as the means to resolve disputes and to reduce backlog cases. We will draw from the experiences and lessons learnt from these jurisdictions; and offer suggestions for the adoption and/or reform of the mediation practice in Malaysia. iii ABSTRAK Kajian ini mendokong peningkatan model didalam pentadbiran sistem keadilan sivil yang menekankan penyelesaian pertikaian tanpa perbicaraan. Berbagai pendekatan telah diperkenalkan dan dipakai di dalam banyak negara untuk mencapai objektif ini. Sesunguhnya tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa proses pertikaian alternatif memainkan peranan yang penting dan asas untuk menjayakan pendekatan prosedur baru ini. Fokus utama kajian ini adalah ke atas pemakaian ‘mediasi’sebagai satu kaedah penyelesaian pertikaian. Mediasi telah diguna pakai secara meluas untuk menyelesaikan pertikaian dan mencapai kata sepakat didalam banyak industri dan untuk berbagai jenis pertikaian. Mediasi telah berkembang dan semakin mendapat tempat di beberapa negara. Mahkamah-mahkamah sivil di negara terbabit juga telah mula menggunakan mediasi sebagai satu mekanisme untuk penyelesaian masalah yang berbangkit di mahkamah terutamanya masalah kes- kes tertunggak. kelewatan penyelesaian kes dan kos mahkamah yang tinggi. Tema utama kajian ini adalah peranan mediasi sebagai satu mekanisme untuk mempercepatkan penyelesaian dan mengurangkan kes-kes tertunggak di mahkamah sivil serta peranan mediasi dalam memberikan penyelesaian terbaik kepada pihak-pihak yang bertikai. Mediasi seharusnya dianggap dan digunapakai sebagai satu komponen untuk landskap penyelesaian pertikaian di Malaysia. Kajian ini mengutarakan bahawa sistem keadilan sivil di Malaysia seharusnya menggalakkan, memudahkan dan seterusnya mewajibkan pemakaian mediasi sebagai satu cara penyelesaian pertikaian. Pemakaiaan mediasi di luar mahkamah secara meluas akan mengurangkan jumlah kes yang difailkan ke mahkamah dan pendekatan mediasi yang berstruktur dan terancang di mahkamah pula akan memepercepatkan penyelesaian kes- kes dan seterusnya akan mengurangkan jumlah kes tertunggak. Untuk itu kajian ini mencadangkan penggunaaan mediasi dipertingkatkan di ke dua peringkat ini; iaitu mediasi di luar mahkamah dan juga mediasi di dalam mahkamah. Walaupun mediasi adalah bukan satu-satunya cara untuk mengurangkan kes-kes tertunggak dan kelewatan di mahkamah, penggunaannya telah memberikan impak yang besar dalam menyelesaikan isu-isu berbangkit dengan sistem keadilan di beberapa negara, terutamanya dalam menangani masalah kes-kes tertunggak. Untuk itu tesis ini akan mengkaji kesesuaian pemakaian mediasi di Malaysia, permasalahan kes-kes tertunggak di mahkamah sivil, bentuk mediasi yang paling efektif and menarik kepada penduduk Malaysia dan juga pemakaian mediasi di luar mahkamah dan mediasi didalam mahkamah yang paling efektif. Selain itu kajian ini juga akan meneliti penggunaan mediasi di beberapa negara terutamanya di Singapura dan Australia sebagai satu mekanisme penyelesaian pertikaian dan pengurangan kes di tertunggak di mahkamah. Pengalaman dan pengajaran dari negara-negara ini akan di jadikan panduan dan cadangan untuk satu reformasi pemakaian mediasi di Malaysia. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of many people especially my husband, Mustaza and our children; Musfira, Munif and Maisara. I thank each one of them for their understanding and support. I am particularly indebted to my supervisor, Professor Dr. Choong Yeow Chong for his constructive criticisms, assistance and patience in supervising my research. My deep gratitude also goes to Assoc. Prof. Dr Juriah Abd Jalil, the Head of Legal Practice Department for her constant encouragement. I also wish to express my gratitude to Encik Osman Ahmad of Consumer Claims Tribunal, Puan Ruzita Ramli and Encik Rosdi Hanafi from Jabatan Kehakiman Shariah Malaysia, Puan Dayang Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad and Tuan Sharizad from Kuching High Court and Puan Isma Julia from Legal Aid Department for their kind cooperation and assistance. I also wish to express my gratitude to David Leonard and Colin Lavars from Dispute Settlement Centre, Victoria, Di Moloney of Family Relationship Center Melbourne, Ian De Lacey from the Victorian Administrative Tribunal, Melboune, Nicholas Flaskas, Laurie Walton, Steve Jupp and Jeannie Highet from the Supreme Court of New South Wales in granting me the facilities and assistance in my research. Many thanks also to Puan Hidayah from the University of Sydney for the facilities and guidance. My appreciation also goes to Puan Kamaria Djorimi and Encik Mustafalhadi from the Shariah Court Singapore, Angela Mitakidis and Elliot Goon from Singapore Mediation Centre, Josephine Kang, Joyce Law and Marvin from the Primary Dispute Settlement