3Interpretation

3 Interpretation

(1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

court means –

(a) the Supreme Court or the lower courts within the meaning of the Magistrates Court Act 1987 ; or

(b) a tribunal prescribed by the regulations;

evaluator means a person to whom a court refers a matter for neutral evaluation under this Act;

mediation has a meaning given by subsection (2) ;

mediation session means a meeting arranged for the mediation of a matter under this Act;

mediator means a person to whom a court refers a matter for mediation under this Act;

neutral evaluation has a meaning given by subsection (3) ;

neutral evaluation session means a meeting arranged for the neutral evaluation of a matter under this Act;

registrar means, in the case of the Supreme Court, the Registrar of that Court or, in the case of the Magistrates Court, a district registrar of that Court;

regulations means regulations made and in force under this Act.

(2)  In this Act –

mediation, which includes conciliation, means a structured negotiation process in which the mediator, as a neutral and independent party, assists the parties to a dispute to achieve their own resolution of the dispute.

(3)  In this Act –

neutral evaluation means a process of evaluation of a dispute in which the evaluator seeks to identify and reduce the issues of fact and law that are in dispute.