Upstairs neighbours who refuse to fix pipes leaking water into your home. Decorators who demand more pay for shoddy work. It's enough to bring people to blows - or slug it out in the courts. Civil engineer Paco Tsang Ping-chiu can help resolve such matters before it comes to that - he's a volunteer mediator and president of the Hong Kong Mediation Centre.
Accredited seven years ago, Tsang hadn't been called on much to exercise his mediation skills. That was until this year, when the government issued guidelines requiring the courts to advise litigants in civil cases to consider mediation where appropriate. Now, when the 52-year-old leaves his Tsuen Wan site office after work, he often makes his way to building management offices to help settle disputes between residents.
At the Hong Kong Mediation Council, chairman Chan Bing-woon reports a similar shift. 'In the past decade, there were more mediators than jobs for them. But things changed this year; since the government's directive came into operation we've had a surge of mediation cases.'
The solicitor says he is now almost fully focused on mediation, although he still finds time for legal work and public service.
Mediation hasn't caught on as widely in Hong Kong as it has in the West, although it was introduced to the city about 20 years ago. But its role has come to the fore since the judiciary began promoting arbitration last year to ease pressure on the courts and discourage unnecessary legal battles.
