‘FTT Property Chamber Mediation’

I have just watched an excellent Chancery Bar Association online talk about the work of the FTT Property Chamber. Hopefully for CHBA members, the recording and slides will appear on the CHBA website in due course.

Two of the speakers were Judge Michael Michell and Judge Simon Brilliant, who are the co-authors of ‘A Practical Guide to Land Registration Proceedings’ (which you can order online from Wildy’s bookshop in Lincoln’s Inn).

As judge Simon Brilliant mentioned, in a ‘boundary dispute’, costs can exceed the value of the land involved.

Where there is a significant disparity, a County Court judge might refuse to make a judicial determination. That does not happen in the FTT.

What I did not know was that FTT mediation (which can take place at any stage and possibly even before statements of case have been filed) is free. So, no Mediator fees and no venue fees. The FTT Mediator is a specialised property judge who is also a trained and accredited Mediator. So, you could not do better!

Mediation in the FTT which the judges encourage early, but as far as I am aware cannot mandate (and I did not ask and should have asked that question – so if you know the answer please comment), can even take place on site.

Since FTT Judges exercise the same powers as High Court judges and have a broad jurisdiction, then what is the point of litigating a boundary dispute in the County Court, i.e. before a judge who has no Chancery pedigree or detailed technical grasp of principles of property law?

As many practitioners can attest, the County Court (including the CLCC) is one of the most administratively frustrating courts in which to litigate any case. This in and of itself, can result in the unnecessary incurrence of significant costs, which could have been avoided altogether, had a more efficient method of dispute resolution been used by the parties, i.e. Mediation.

Since some County Court judges have no Chancery pedigree whatsoever,
why incur thousands of pounds in costs litigating a property dispute before a judge who is not a Chancery specialist?

Some CLCC judges do profess a Chancery pedigree. However, from my own experience,  I am not convinced that all of these CLCC Chancery specialist judges do in fact have a thorough grasp of property law, and of conveyancing law and practice. This should not come as a surprise if these judges have never practised conveyancing (as I did before coming to the Bar), i.e. who did not qualify and work as a solicitor (as I did).

I was very impressed by the calibre of the speakers, who are all experts, and by the relative informality of the FTT. I had the sense that an FTT Judge/Mediator can be highly effective, when required, in saving the parties from themselves.

I recommend that you watch the video of the talk if you are a CHBA member.

See also my blog – ‘Mediating a Boundary Dispute’ – Google ‘Carl’s Mediation blog’ and use the search bar at the top to find the blog.