ABSTRACT
The mediators who took on the casework of the mediation scheme arranged to meet once a month for support and feedback. A small group of them worked on Good Practice Guidelines7 which were then widely discussed, revised and agreed. Overall this early period was one of experimentation, not with the essential concept of mediation, but with a variety of ways of proceeding at different stages in the mediation process. The debate, which is still ongoing, surrounded matters such as the importance of persuading parties to come to a face-to-face meeting, the value of shuttle diplomacy and the number of visits it is reasonable or useful to offer to clients. Practising mediators had, and continue to have, differing views.
