Lawmaker-cum-lawyer Vong Hin Fai, who heads the Legislative Assembly’s 3rd Standing Committee, said yesterday that family dispute mediators would not receive any additional payment for providing their services, meaning that the parties concerned don’t need to pay for the compulsory mediation service.
The committee held a closed-door meeting yesterday to review the bill – the outline of which was passed during a plenary session in November – after which Vong said during a media briefing that his committee has finished the review of the bill yesterday, and will send it to a plenary session for its article-by-article review in due course.
Several government officials attended yesterday’s meeting.
Vong quoted some committee members as suggesting that the bill could be used to promote the professional development of mediators, such as the accreditation of courses for mediators run by community associations and organisations, and also asking the government whether mediators included on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Mediators’ List would be qualified to act as mediators in Macau as required under the bill.
Vong quoted one of the government officials as reiterating yesterday that the scope of qualification of mediators as stipulated in the bill is to be taken up by two kinds of social workers designated by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), comprising social workers from the bureau and those from community associations.
Vong explained, “As the government’s legislative intent is to provide free services to the public, it is more appropriate to allow social workers to act as mediators.”
According to the bill, parties must undergo mediation before engaging in judicial proceedings, such as cases involving litigated divorces, the exercise of parental rights, the provision of alimony, and property divisions.
However, some committee members suggested that social workers, whether from the government or community associations, should be provided with additional payment even if it is only nominal in nature, so as to show their respect for the mediation profession. Vong said that the government officials at yesterday’s meeting had not mentioned any monetary figures concerning the mediation process.
Regarding some members’ suggestion of setting up a regular review mechanism, Vong quoted the government officials as saying that it would not be appropriate to specify the review period or cycle in the bill, and that the government would conduct a review in a timely manner in the light of the implementation of the law once is has taken effect.
Vong said that after the law has become effective, the bureau would need to enter into cooperation agreements with local social service organisations for the provision of mediation services and select social workers with experience in family disputes to attend the relevant training courses.
Meanwhile, the bureau will also need to organise a raft of tasks, such as the formulation of guidelines and regulations, therefore, the government expects the bill to come into effect only six months after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO), according to Vong.
Lawmaker-cum-lawyer Vong Hin Fai (left), who chairs the legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee, and the committee’s secretary Leong Sun Iok, pose after the committee’s closed-door meeting reviewing the government’s bill on family dispute mediation yesterday. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
