Modilon goes before mediator

By PISAI GUMAR
THE National Court in Madang has referred the case between Modilon General Hospital board of management and staff to the mediation.
In an 18-page decision last Friday, Justice Catherine Davani said the administrative dispute that began in November 2006 was an ongoing issue.
She said the issue had been held over several court proceedings in 2006, 2010 and 2011 and the two parties had not resolved administrative issues plaguing the hospital.
“The staff and hospital management were unable to reach an agreement on matters involving the disciplining of staff, appointment of administrators and staff to exact positions in the hospital,” Davani said.
“Both parties continuously resort to obtaining court orders to maintain the status quo; that satisfies their purposes, rightly or wrongly, and the existing underlying issues and disputes were never resolved.
She said in view of existing procedural anomalies, she exercised the powers under Part II of the Rules relating to Accreditation, Regulation and Conduct of Mediation.
Rule 5(2) of the mediation provides that “a court can on its motion order mediation for a resolution of all or any parts of the proceedings”.
“Failing settlement, identify and limit the real and meritorious issues in the proceedings that warrant judicial consideration and determination and, or enable the parties to reach consensus on the conduct of litigation”.
While taking into account the content of Rule 5(3) (a) to (i), Davani referred the matter to mediation governed by S.166 of the Constitution and S.7B of the National Court Act Chapter No 38.
She said the parties wasted a lot of time and money on legal action but the real issue was never resolved and that needed to be placed in mediation “and thrashed out because the court case has not been able to achieve the results desired by both parties”.
“As to whether trial is a better option than mediation, I find that defendant’s concerns in relation to their positions and salaries must be addressed by a neutral body, in this case, a mediator. A trial will not achieve a consensus desired by all parties,” she said.
They were advised to meet with the assistant registrar mediation at 9am on Aug 28 at the Madang district court.