The Case for Mandatory Mediation to Effectively Address Child Custody Issues in Hong Kong

The use of mediation, as a viable and effective alternative dispute resolution process to litigation, is now firmly established, especially in dealing with family law issues. In many common law jurisdictions, courts have adopted the use of mandatory mediation to specifically address child custody disputes or issues involving children. However, to date, Hong Kong has not opted to impose mandatory mediation to resolve such issues. The purpose of this article is to review the current state of mediation in Hong Kong with respect to child custody issues, conduct a multi-jurisdictional analysis of whether mandatory mediation is used in other common law and civil law jurisdictions to resolve children's issues, evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of mandatory mediation, and to propose a way forward for Hong Kong in better dealing with children's issues in family law disputes. Adapted from the source document.