

The Difference Between Divorce Mediation and Private Judging
What is divorce mediation?
Divorce mediation can be described as an informal out of court process which involves an impartial third party known as the mediator, who assists the divorcing parties in resolving their conflicts and disagreements over their marriage. It is the duty of a mediator to guide and assist both the parties in reaching a mutually agreed upon settlement by ensuring the preservation of the underlying concerns and interests of both. A mediator does not however have the right of imposing a certain resolution upon the concerned parties, since he or she cannot grant legally binding verdicts. The final settlement mutually agreed upon by both parties can be merely cited as a contract signed by them, which does not have a legal force. In a nutshell, mediation can be an effective approach to resolving marital conflicts in situations where there is some room for a peaceful negotiation.
What is private judging?
Private judging of divorce cases, on the other hand, is a negotiation process wherein both the divorcing parties mutually agree upon appointing a neutral third party as a judge to help find a resolution for their marital conflicts outside of the public courtroom, as a private affair. It can be cited as a simplified version of the actual courtroom litigation with lesser complicated procedures and operational guidelines. The private judging starts by both the parties stating their respective concerns and issues in front of the private judge and presenting before him or her the relevant documents and evidence. After hearing both sides of the story, the private judge has the right to grant an ‘award’ or a final verdict which is held enforceable by the court of law, if either party fails to comply with it. In other words, the decision of the private judge is deemed as binding upon both the parties if the parties agreed to that in the beginning.
Considering the bigger picture, both mediation and private judge are enacted in order to reach a mutually agreed upon out of court settlement which not only saves the time and money of both the parties involved, but also makes the process less emotionally draining for them.
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