8.6.4 Early case management
Unless the case is to be decided without a trial, the presiding judge must set the trial date without delay and usually fixes a date as soon as the defendant files an answer disputing the complaint.115 The judge will evaluate how hotly the case is disputed, how complex it is, whether it is well suited for mediation or whether there is a particularly urgent need for adjudication and sets the earliest practical date for a trial as the first trial date. Where early mediation is likely to settle the case, the case may be referred to the mediation court or mediation center before the first trial date is set.