The UK High Court recently refused to allow a claim to proceed in relation to mis-selling of an insurance product on the basis that the claimants had already been offered full redress under a formal ADR scheme established in relation to such complaints.   The decision is a further example of the UK courts’ support for ADR and illustrates that … Read more

A number of alternative dispute resolution procedures are available and recognised in Japan – including expert determination, mediation, conciliation, and multi-track dispute resolution processes (ie a combination of different dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration and expert determination). Peter Godwin, Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills GJBJ, Tokyo, reviews the increase in ADR usage in certain … Read more

Our previous post reported on the “Law Concerning the Promotion of the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures” (the “ADR Promotion Law”), which came into effect on 1 April 2007. Under the ADR Promotion Law, 116  institutions from multiple sectors have to date acquired accreditation to help resolve civil disputes outside the Japanese public court … Read more

Australia’s shadow minister for financial services, Mathias Cormann, has acknowledged that there are legitimate concerns over procedural matters and natural justice in relation to Australia’s Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Credit Ombudsman Service (COS). The term ‘ombudman’ derives from Swedish and means an independent official who addresses complaints by investigation and attempts to resolve matters without … Read more

On 19 June 2012 the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre opened to assist financial institutions and their clients to resolve monetary disputes involving claims not exceeding HKD 500,000 (USD 65,000). It is hoped that under the FDRC’s dispute resolution mechanism, an early meeting/mediation between the parties will resolve the dispute. The government’s decision in December 2010 to set up the … Read more

Together with the consultation on the use of ADR and the resulting legislative proposal, the European Commission is undertaking the following initiatives: The EU Citizenship Report dated October 2010 pledges to facilitate fast and inexpensive out-of-court resolution of consumer problems in the EU by (1) promoting the wider use of mediation by 2013, and (2) exploring … Read more

Section 328 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA) provides that it is an offence for a person to be involved in an arrangement that he knows or suspects will facilitate the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person. Members of the legal profession and mediation … Read more

“The Law Concerning the Promotion of the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures” (the “ADR Promotion Law”) was promulgated on 1 December 2004 and came into effect on 1 April 2007. This law allows the Minister of Justice to give accreditation to private-sector organisations that help resolve civil disputes outside the Japanese public court system. … Read more