The modern emergence of mediation in the West in the 1980s represents a profound transformation of civil disputing practice, particularly in the field of family justice. In the field of family disputes mediation has emerged to fill a gap which none of the existing services, lawyers and courts on the one hand, or welfare, advisory or therapeutic interventions on the other, could in their nature have filled.

In the UK mediation is now the approved pathway in the current landscape of family dispute resolution processes, officially endorsed and publicly funded by government to provide separating and divorcing families with the opportunity to resolve their disputes co-operatively with less acrimony, delay and cost than the traditional competitive litigation and court process.

The consolidation of the professional practice of family mediation reflects its progress and creativity in respect both of the expanding focus on professional quality assurance as well as on developments of policy, practice guidelines and training to address central concerns about the role of children in mediation, screening for domestic abuse, sexual orientation and gender identity as well as cross-cultural issues including the role of interpreters in the process. Other areas of innovation include the application of family mediation to a growing range of family conflict situations involving, for example, international family disputes (including cross border, relocation and child abduction issues).

Written by leaders in family mediation, this title provides a contemporary account of current practice developments and research concerning family mediation across a range of issues in the UK and Ireland.

Chapter 1: Introduction - Marian Roberts and Maria Federica Moscati
Chapter 2: Reconstruction of family mediation in a post-justice world - Rosemary Hunter and Anne Barlow
Chapter 3: Development of the regulatory framework for the practice of mediation in the UK - Lesley Saunders
Chapter 4: Family mediation: the Irish perspective - Sinéad Conneely and Róisín O'Shea
Chapter 5: Family mediation: the Scottish perspective - Anne Hall Dick
Chapter 6: Ethics and the family mediation process - Lisa Webley
Chapter 7: Models, styles and third parties: a fresh look at three core concepts in family mediation - Barbara Wilson
Chapter 8: The meaning of power in family mediation: new forms and functions - Marian Roberts
Chapter 9: Whose truth is it anyway? An imaginative reflection on the place of truth in family mediation - Neil Robinson
Chapter 10: The voice of the child in family mediation - Lesley Allport
Chapter 11: Mediation in children's cases with a cross-border element – in particular, international child abduction, leave to remove and international contact - Sandra Fenn, Anne-Marie Hutchinson and Angela Lake-Carroll
Chapter 12: We have the method but still there is so much to do: mediation for gender and sexually diverse relationships - Maria Federica Moscati
Chapter 13: Creative paths to practice: helping new mediators to navigate the route to artistry - Lorraine Bramwell
Chapter 14: Teaching family mediation in higher education – what an academic family mediation course could look like - Katherine Stylianou
Chapter 15: Exploring the scope of family mediation in England and Wales - Andrew Sims
Chapter 16: Domestic abuse and family mediation: what can an experienced mediator tell us? - Tony Whatling, interviewed by the editors

“Scholarly as well as readable, it is a book which will no doubt be regarded as essential reading for lawyers as well as meditators, who should lose no time in acquiring it.” –  Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator

“Irish contributors Conneely and O'Shea to Family Mediation: Contemporary Issues, in an excellent analysis, provide the Irish perspective and examine the development of family mediation in Ireland.” –  Keith Walsh, The Parchment

“...this substantial and interesting collection of essays aims to provide a critical overview of current developments and research in family mediation in the UK and Ireland, to improve professional practice and enhance understanding of family mediation by expanding knowledge, and to engage 'scholars' and practitioners in actively exchanging ideas and collaborating. Overall it succeeds.” –  Family Law

“This impressive book is a must read for all dispute resolution practitioners particularly family mediators and all of those individuals and professionals who are stakeholders in the family justice system. The book is both an academic and theoretical tour de force” –  Dominic Raeside, Family Law in Partnership