Divorcing couples will be required to attend a mediation awareness session before going to court under new protocols outlined by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) yesterday (24 February).

From April this year, separating spouses planning to contest the terms of their divorce in court will first be required to consider mediation, in an effort to remove the backlog of cases and reduce court costs.

The move will mirror the system already in place for separating couples granted legal aid.

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said: "Mediation is often quicker, cheaper and less confrontational than going to court.

"Research shows it can cost a quarter of the price and take a quarter of the time of going to court, and with two thirds of publicly funded mediation already resulting in full agreement it can ensure better results for families too."

City family lawyers are broadly in agreement that the change is a good move in terms of encouraging discussion between couples, although some are concerned that it promotes a 'one size fits all' model that cannot be applied generally.

Withers family head Julian Lipson said: "Encouraging clients to have settlements out of court and in mediation is to be welcomed. In the more straightforward type of case, it is often the right choice. However, one of the main drivers for what is being proposed is to try and relieve pressure on the court system and to save money.

"The idea of people being encouraged to mediate is a very good one, but the difficulty can be that mediation doesn't work for everybody and there are often very obvious reasons why mediation won't work, for example where the two parties are not on a level playing field when it comes to being able to discuss finances."

Irwin Mitchell family partner Alison Hawes said: "Mediation is an absolutely brilliant resource, but I have concerns about trying to make one size fit all, which just cannot be applied in these kinds of cases.

"Nine out of ten of my cases are settled through negotiation anyway, and it is a little naive to think that lawyers don't exhaust every other option before taking the case to court. I also feel that generally there can be a power imbalance in couples and by forcing people to mediate you are in danger of perpetuating the vulnerability of one party."