Community Mediation Centre (Singapore)
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The Community Mediation Centres (CMCs) in Singapore come under the purview of the Ministry of Law. The work of the CMCs is overseen by the Community Mediation Unit (CMU), a department set up within the Ministry of Law to run CMCs’ day to day operations as well as promote the use of
mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
in Singapore.


Overview

Set up with a view to providing Singaporeans with an accessible platform to resolve community and social disputes in an amicable manner, Singapore’s first CMC was established in 1998, following recommendations in 1997 by an inter-agency Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The CMCs Act became law in 1998, providing for the establishment of the CMCs. The CMU’s mission is to provide mediation services for social, community or family disputes that do not involve an arrestable (seizable) offence under any written law. There are currently two CMCs at accessible locations in Singapore: CMC (Central), located at The Treasury and CMC (State Courts), located within the State Courts’ building.


History

In March 1996, Professor S Jayakumar, then Minister for Law, tasked an inter-agency Committee to explore how
Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
(ADR) processes, in particular, mediation, could be further promoted in Singapore. This led to the formation of a Committee on ADR in May 1996, chaired by then Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Associate Professor
Ho Peng Kee Ho Peng Kee ( zh, s=何炳基, p=Hé Bǐngjī; born 9 May 1954) is a Singaporean legal academic and former politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and the Minis ...
, and comprising representatives from the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, the Courts, Attorney General's Chambers, the
Singapore Academy of Law The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is a statutory body in Singapore. SAL is a promotion and development agency for Singapore's legal industry. SAL also undertakes statutory functions such as stakeholding services and the appointment of Senior C ...
, the
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...
, the
Singapore International Arbitration Centre Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is a not-for-profit international arbitration organisation based in Singapore, which administers arbitrations under its own rules of arbitration and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. It was establis ...
, the
Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the ''Law Gazette'' and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for ...
and Members of Parliament. In July 1997, the Committee on ADR submitted a report to the Government, recommending that less expensive and non-adversarial methods of dispute resolution should be introduced in order to prevent Singaporean society from becoming too litigious. These should cater to a wide range of social and community conflicts. Noting that mediation reflects important aspects of traditions and cultures that are worthy of preservation, the Committee on ADR recommended that mediation, in particular, should be promoted to resolve social and community disputes. Pursuant to the recommendations of the Committee, the Ministry of Law set up the CMCs to help promote a more harmonious, civil and gracious society, where social conflicts are resolved amicably without resort to litigation in the Courts.


About Community Mediation in Singapore

Mediation sessions at the CMCs are facilitated by a panel of trained volunteer mediators, who guide parties through discussion of the issues and assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable solution. The CMCs’ volunteer mediators come from a wide range of backgrounds, many of whom also actively serve as
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
(JP), senior grassroots and community leaders.


Types of Disputes CMC handles

The CMCs cater to community disputes, as opposed to commercial, legal or contractual disputes. The wide range types of disputes handled by the CMCs include relational disputes, such as quarrels between neighbours (e.g. noise, laundry dripping, corridor obstruction disputes), family conflicts (e.g. maintenance of elderly or disabled family members, spouse, parent-child), arguments, squabbles, spats, tiffs, quarrels and disagreements between friends, lovers, colleagues, landlord-tenant, hawker or shop-owner squabbles (e.g. placement of products) and conflicts between strangers (e.g. verbal or insulting gestures, utterance of unacceptable words, display of unacceptable behaviour or conduct, interest-free monetary matter based on verbal agreement involving less than S$5000). Either parties can voluntarily approach the CMCs directly for assistance by visiting a CMC, calling their hotline at 1800-2255-529 or enquiry/registration through their website at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/cmc/en.html. Disputes may also be referred to the CMC for voluntary mediation by the Police, HDB,
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, Members of Parliament,
Legal Aid Bureau The Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) in Singapore is a department under the Ministry of Law of the Government of Singapore. LAB provides legal representation and advice in civil matters to persons of limited means. The department is headed by the Directo ...
or other community-based agency. In accordance with the Community Mediation Centres Act, Cap 49A, for the purposes of mediation and the Community Mediation Centre’s procedures thereof and under Sec 152(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap.68), should the referral be made by SPF and you subsequently fail or refuse to attend the mediation session, the Magistrate may dismiss any future complaints on the matter if you do not provide any reasonable grounds for such failure or refusal. Under the CMCs Act, where deemed appropriate, Magistrates also have the power to refer Magistrate Complaints to the CMCs for mandatory mediation. A CMC is co-located within the State Courts’ premises for that purpose. The Magistrate can also refer suitable cases for mediation at the CMC under Section 15 of the CMC Act. For such cases, mediation is compulsory.


Partnerships

The CMCs collaborate with many partner agencies to encourage the awareness and use of community mediation in Singapore. It has referral arrangements with frontline public and community agencies, such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the People’s Association (PA). Through collaboration with its partners, the CMC aims to channel appropriate social and community disputes to CMC, as well as to increase awareness and use of community mediation.


Youth Outreach

As part of the CMCs’ efforts to build a mediation culture in Singapore, it organises a variety of youth-oriented outreach programmes to generate awareness and understanding of mediation among youth. Currently, there are three main youth programmes organised by the CMC: the Peer Mediation Assembly programme, Youth Mediation Forum and Peer Mediation Training Workshops. The Peer Mediation Assembly Programme consists of an interactive performance with themes related to conflict resolution and mediation; and introduces the mediation process. The annual Youth Mediation Forum is a platform for student leaders to share their thoughts about how conflicts amongst youths should be resolved and learn more about mediation. The Peer Mediation Training Workshop uses a variety of methods to equip student leaders with peer mediation skills. Through videos, lectures and role-play scenarios, students experience the mediation process first-hand to facilitate application in their daily lives.


See also

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Mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
*
Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
*
Ministry of Law (Singapore) The Ministry of Law (MinLaw; ms, Kementerian Undang-Undang; zh, 律政部; ta, சட்ட அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for the advancement in access to justice, the rule of law, the econom ...
*
Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...


References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= Community Mediation in Singapore, 10th Anniversary Community Mediation Centre Commemorative Book: Who are we? {{ISBN, 978-981-08-1142-6. Retrieved from https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/cmc/en.html Community Mediation Centre official website, Our History: https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/cmc/en.html Community Mediation in Singapore, 10th Anniversary Community Mediation Centre Commemorative Book: Our volunteer mediators. {{ISBN, 978-981-08-1142-6 Community Mediation Centre official website, Types of Disputes CMC handles: https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/cmc/en.html


External links


Community Mediation Centre (Singapore)
Mediation