Kenya adopts mediation-first policy for family disputes

A mediation conference in Kenya has seen a potentially ground-breaking decision by the judiciary: from now on, all disputes in family matters must first be referred for mediation. Courts may only become involved if mediation fails to resolve arguments over burial rights and succession, for example. Carmel Rickard, in her A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site, explains that judicial commitment to this new approach was made public on the same day as delivery of a High Court decision illustrating exactly the kind of problem that mediation could help resolve.

Kenya judgment

A Matter of Justice