Supported by FCoA, Badilag Holds a Workshop on Mediation
Jakarta l Badilag.net
The Directorate General of the Religious Courts holds a workshop on mediation in Jakarta from 20 to 22 of March 2012. This workshop is one implementation of the cooperation between the Supreme Court of Indonesia and the Family Court of Australia which was signed last year. It is facilitated by Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice (AIPJ).
This workshop is attended by 30 judges and they represent each High Religious Courts throughout Indonesia.
“I do believe all participants will get many advantages from this workshop and they will be the expert mediators,” the Director General of the Religious Courts, Wahyu Widiana said while opening the workshop, Tuesday morning (20/3/2012).
Wahyu Widiana said thtat mediation is very urgent in delivering excellent service to justice seekers. But, unfortunately, mediation does not work very well in the Religious Courts.
Mediation in some countries such as America, Australia and Japan had succeeded in settling family disputes, whereas in the Religious Courts it mostly failed.
.According to Wahyu Widiana, the success of mediation in the Religious Court reached less than 1 percent.
“From 360,000 cases submitted to the Religious Courts, less than 3,600 cases were settled through mediation,” he said.
He explained that this was caused by improper criteria in determining success of mediation. Mediation will be only regarded successful when a divorce does not happen. It differs from what it is implemented in other countries.
“In Australia, divorces are not mediated. Mediation is implemented in some family matters which emerge as consequences of divorces including maintenance, custody, joint marital property etc. Therefore, the success of mediation could reach 60 to 70 percent,” he said.
“We want to make new criteria of success of mediation. When mediation succeeds in settling problems of custody, maintenance and joint marital property, it can be regarded as successful mediation although it fails in divorce,” he said.
Wahyu Widiana appreciates judges who pay their attention to mediation.
Program Director of AIPJ, Nicola Colbran and Executive Advisor of FCoA, Leisha Lister thank to Badilag for the cooperation.
This workshop involves some experts in mediation. They discuss mediation from some important perspectives. Besides discussion, some role plays are performed in this workshop.
Justice, Prof Takdir Rahmadi also presents his paper on mediation and the code of ethic for mediators, particularly on Supreme Court Regulation No. 1 of 2008.
Wiwik Awiati, from Judicial Reform Team Office (JRTO) differentiates between negotiation and mediation.
Simon Curran, an expert trainer from Australia explained on how mediation should be implemented. Mediation will be hoped to create a peaceful divorce when parties cannot live in a harmony life.
Other discussions provided in this workshop include sensitivity on gender, domestic violence, mediation for people with disability.
(Rahmat Arijaya | Shofa)