Performance Reporting — Continued

Social and Economic Stability

Ministry Goals Supported by Business Area	Key Objective	Key Strategies
Goal 1: Laws and justice services are administered fairly, equitably and efficiently to all British Columbians, while individual rights and judicial independence are protected Goal 5: The efficiency of all ministry operations is improved through the use of innovative business practices and technology	Promote out-of-court dispute resolution within the civil/family justice system Support operation of three levels of court in resolving civil and family disputes	• Reduce demand for court services through dispute resolution services and mandatory referral to Family Justice Counsellors for families undergoing separation and divorce • Support public assess to mediation with trained mediators to resolve civil justice disputes • Provide efficient, effective registry operations, court administration and court security support

The key objectives for this business area support ministry goals 1 and 5. The first objective — promoting out-of-court dispute resolution options — is directed at out-of-court services to individuals and families. The second objective is directed at in-court services for those clients. Together, the two objectives guarantee choice to people involved in civil or family disputes.

Resolving disputes in ways that are seen by the public as fair, appropriate and equitable contributes to social stability. Offering justice system users a range of options for resolving their disputes creates efficiencies by reserving the resource-intensive court process for those cases that need it most. Many civil cases can be resolved out of court by using innovative dispute resolution processes such as mediation. Such processes allow people to participate actively in creating fair, enduring agreements that are tailored to their needs. Fair and efficient administration of laws and justice services (goals 1 and 5) are served by alternative approaches to courtroom litigation.

The key strategies help achieve the objectives in several ways. By offering litigants choices, disputing parties can select a process that best fits the unique characteristics of each case as well as the personal dynamics and circumstances involved. By making some processes mandatory (such as mandatory referral to Family Justice Counsellors), the demand for court hearing days is reduced.

One of the primary out-of-court dispute resolution options promoted by the ministry is mediation. The second strategy helps ensure that a pool of high quality mediators is accessible at all times, which is essential to the promotion and expansion of mediation programs. The third strategy ensures that civil litigants who choose to have their disputes handled in court are afforded the court registry and security services that are required.

Six key performance measures inform this core business area.

1    Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Number of communities served by Family Justice Centres (FJCs)	56	56	56  Target Met

This measure indicates that, despite limited resources, the ministry has maintained access to out-of-court justice services for families across the province. A decrease in this measure would mean that families had less access to such services and might rely to a greater degree on courtroom processes. Maintaining access is critical to promoting the use of out-of-court options.

2    Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Number of FJCs with mandatory referral to family justice ounseling services	6	6	6  Target Met

The results for this measure speak to the promotion of out-of-court dispute resolution. Mandatory referrals increase public awareness of out-of-court settlement opportunities and raise the likelihood of resolution without utilizing court resources.

3    Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Number of mediators in B.C. mediation roster	117	160	193  Target Surpassed

As more mediators are trained and available to mediate disputes, more individuals and families can choose mediation as an option, and more civil and family cases will be directed away from in-court processes. In 2002/03, there were 76 additional mediators on the B.C. mediation roster than in 2001/02.

The data for measures 1-3 above are straight counts. The Dispute Resolution Office maintains records to inform these measures.

4    Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Percentage of small claims disputes settled through out-of-court dispute resolution options in 4 sites	56% (adjusted to 57%)	60%	50% (subject to adjustment)  Target Likely Unmet

This measure indicates the proportion of small claims disputes that have been successfully resolved through mediation from April 2002 through March 2003. Ideally the proportion of disputes reaching settlement through mediation should increase. An increase would mean that more cases that might otherwise have gone to court are being resolved through less costly means. This leaves more resources available to process cases that require courtroom resolution. There were 850 mediations conducted in 2002/03; half of these, or 425, reached settlement and avoided court.

Actual settlement rates are dependent on many factors. Different categories of cases have different settlement rates, and some cases are more challenging to settle than others. During 2002/03, the program received more of the challenging cases than it had in previous years. This affected the settlement rate. As well, during the past year, several experienced mediators left the program, leaving less experienced mediators to handle an increased number of difficult cases. Inexperienced mediators generally have lower settlement rates than do experienced ones.

Many families experienced difficult economic times over the past year. When disputants are under great financial and emotional pressures, they are not as inclined to negotiate and compromise as they are when they have fewer financial worries.

In efforts to increase the proportion of cases resolved through mediation, the ministry's Dispute Resolution Office is continuing to support and fund high-quality training for new mediators. This strategy also increases the number of available qualified mediators. Mediation for small claims construction cases is now mandatory, and a Notice to Mediate process can now be used by one disputant to compel the other party or parties to mediate.

5   Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Mean rate of satisfaction with civil dispute resolution processes in 4 sites (1 = very dissatisfied; 5 = very satisfied)	3.5	3.5	4.4  Target Surpassed

This measure is based on a satisfaction survey of disputants who have undergone the dispute resolution process. The result indicates a high level of satisfaction with the approach. High satisfaction levels can encourage a greater use of dispute resolution options.

The data source for measures 4 and 5 above is the Court Mediation Program database. No reliability issues have been associated with this database.

6   Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Numbers of locations and hours for civil and family sittings at all levels of court	96 locations 66 staffed locations 75,000 hours	72 locations 41 staffed locations 72,900 hours	87 locations 43 staffed locations 75,108 hours  Target Met; Actual Reflects New Circuit Courts

As described earlier in this document, the number of court locations is a crude indicator of courthouse distribution and public accessibility to the court system. To meet three-year budget targets, the ministry closed 24 of the 68 staffed courthouses in the province. Today there are 43 staffed locations that handle civil cases. This is one location less than the number of locations that handle criminal cases because the Vancouver Provincial Court does not process civil cases.

As staffed courthouses were being closed, several municipalities volunteered to enter into partnerships with the ministry and create 15 additional circuit courts. These courts maintain access to justice while saving court registry and staff costs. The 2002/03 actual number of court locations represents the outcome of ministry decisions taken with respect to both staffed locations and circuit courts.

Sitting hours are generally accepted as a measure of court activity. The addition of circuit courts supports the second objective for this business area as well as ministry goals 1, 2 and 5.

Data source for this measure is the JUSTIN case-tracking system.