Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes

Preliminary Conference

The Court can now offer a Preliminary Conference at no cost to the parties.

A Preliminary Conference is held in a court room presided over by a Judicial Registrar or a Member of the Land Court. The purpose of the conference is to attempt to resolve the matter without going to a Court hearing. Parties will not be required to give evidence under oath, but will need to generally outline the type of evidence to be relied on without going into specifics.

Duration of the conference is generally about 30 minutes to one hour.

The role of the Court is to provide comment on the relative merits and strength of the case, and to encourage a settlement. If a settlement is reached, it is the responsibility of the landowner as the lodging party to advise the Court and withdraw the appeal.

If the Preliminary Conference does not result in resolution, the landowner retains the right to have the matter heard by the Land Court.

Please indicate whether you wish to participate in a Preliminary Conference when lodging your Notice of Appeal

A Member of the Court who presides over a preliminary conference may not, without leave of the parties, preside over a hearing of the same matter.

Mediation

The Court can provide a court-supervised mediation process at no cost to the parties.