SMP hosted guest speaker Pascal Comvalius who spoke on 1 February 2024 at Maxwell Chambers about behavioural science in criminal mediation - “Lie to Me!”
Depending on the jurisdiction, mediated settlements in criminal matters may have an impact on the judgment by the courts. Even if the outcome is unaffected, Pascal shared that allowing the accused to explain himself would, to an extent, help the affected find closure and help lift a heavy burden off the shoulders of the accused.
In criminal mediations, parties’ desired solutions often involve simple answers to the questions - Why did the accused do what he did? What were the last words of the victim? Did the victim suffer? These three simple burning questions are what the victim’s family often ponder. And most of the time, all that the accused desires is to grant the families these answers for peace of mind.
As there is no criminal mediation as such in Singapore, the audience was fascinated to learn about another possibility for mediation and thoroughly engaged by a very animated well-delivered presentation.
