<![CDATA[Mandatory court mediation is intended to create a genuine opportunity for settlement before a divorce dispute proceeds to adjudication. Procedural compliance, however, does not necessarily generate meaningful participation. This study examines the implementation barriers affecting divorce mediation at the Medan Religious Court and develops an institutional design responsive to party readiness. It applies an empirical legal approach and qualitative analysis to judge-mediator interviews, the Indonesian mediation framework, and recent scholarship on family dispute resolution. Four patterns emerge. Parties commonly enter mediation after conflict has become protracted and the decision to divorce has hardened; mediation is frequently perceived as a procedural formality; short sessions restrict exploration of underlying conflict; and success is too easily reduced to the binary question of marital reconciliation. The article proposes a Mediation Readiness and Continuity Model linking pre-court screening and legal education, differentiated court-connected mediation based on conflict intensity and readiness, and settlement continuity for post-divorce issues when reconciliation is unrealistic. The model shifts the institutional objective from formal completion of mediation toward meaningful participation, protection of vulnerable parties, partial settlement, and durable family dispute resolution. It provides a practical framework for strengthening mediation without converting the mediator into an adjudicator or making reconciliation compulsory.]]>
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