The UNCITRAL working group that has for several years now been considering the potential for an international enforcement regime for international mediation has now completed its work and produced draft instruments. At its most recent meeting in New York, the… Read more

The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) has issued a report examining the potential for greater use to be made of ADR in employment disputes. The report was prepared by an ELA working group, co-chaired by Peter Frost, partner in Herbert Smith Freehills' employment team… Read more

The EU Parliament has adopted a Resolution on the implementation of the EU Mediation Directive (2008/52/EC), containing recommendations aimed at increasing the use of mediation in civil and commercial disputes throughout the EU. The Resolution follows a 2016 report by the EU Commission… Read more

A consultation has been launched  "to consider the concerns that have arisen in Europe as a result of the exponential growth of numerous different forms of alternative dispute resolution".   The paper, entitled "The Relationship between Formal and Informal Justice: the… Read more

A Mediation Bill has recently been put before the Singapore Parliament with a view to encouraging the growth of mediation in the jurisdiction.  The three key proposals in the Bill (which echo similar provisions in the EU Mediation Directive and various other mediation laws… Read more

The Hong Kong Financial Dispute Resolution Centre (FDRC), which since June 2012 has been providing ADR services to financial institutions and their individual customers in Hong Kong, has recently launched a consultation to significantly enhance the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme (FDRS)… Read more

The recently published final report of Lord Justice Briggs in his Civil Courts Structure Review includes some interesting conclusions as to the role currently played by ADR in the civil justice system in England and Wales and a number of recommendations aimed at expanding that role.… Read more

An important judicial report has been published examining the need for changes to the court structure and processes for civil justice in England and Wales. The Civil Courts Structure Review by Lord Justice Briggs was commissioned by the senior judiciary to coincide… Read more

It has been confirmed that online businesses will have an extended timeframe in which to comply with new obligations to signpost customers to the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Platform being set up by the EU Commission. As we have previously reported, the EU… Read more

The EU Commission has launched a consultation to gather views on the extent to which the EU Mediation Directive (2008/52/EC) has achieved its objectives and to consider whether any changes to the Directive are appropriate. Responses to the consultation will… Read more

The UK Government has announced its plans for implementing the ADR Directive and the ODR Regulation, both of which are aimed at promoting the use of ADR schemes in disputes involving consumer complaints throughout the EU. While the Government is not at this stage… Read more

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has established a new advisory group to explore the role that online dispute resolution (ODR) can play in resolving civil disputes. ODR involves the resolution of disputes across the internet, using techniques such e-negotiation and… Read more

A review of current practices and procedures in the Chancery Division of the High Court (known as the Chancery Modernisation Review) was undertaken in 2013, led by Lord Justice Briggs.  The final report, published following consultation on a provisional report, includes… Read more

The European Parliament has issued a public questionnaire ('Assessing the Impact of the EU Mediation Directive and Exploring Legislative and Non-Legislative Measures to Encourage the Use of Mediation in EU Member States') to gather information about mediation policy and practice in civil and… Read more

The publication today by OUP of the "Jackson ADR Handbook" (the Handbook) forms part of the suite of measures introduced earlier this month to reform civil litigation in England and Wales. The Handbook is intended to inform litigants, lawyers and judges… Read more

On 12 March 2013, the European Parliament adopted two key legislative measures regarding ADR in respect of consumer disputes. The first Resolution deals with the proposed Directive on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the second Resolution deals with the proposed… Read more

The Government yesterday published its plans for reforming the UK regime for competition law private actions, following a detailed consultation exercise carried out last year. The wide-ranging reforms controversially include the creation of an opt-out collective action for competition law… Read more

The European Commission has recently published the results of a pan-European consultation canvassing views on ADR usage at the business level. This will inform the European Commission's desire to promote and facilitate ADR between businesses. Much of the European Commission's recent work… Read more

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the United States Department of Labor, has announced that it is implementing an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) pilot programme for certain whistleblower complaints.   OSHA's mission is "to assure safe… Read more

Julian Copeman, a Herbert Smith Freehills partner and accredited mediator with CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution), recently published an article in Solicitors Journal addressing whether litigating parties are required to attempt ADR in the UK. He charts developments from the Woolf reforms to Lord Justice Jackson's proposals,… Read more

The UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is now supporting ADR in the resolution of a wide range of tax disputes. On Monday 22 October Herbert Smith Freehills will host a Tax ADR Interest Group for stakeholders at our offices in London… Read more

A New York State report on reforming litigation has at its heart a mandatory mediation pilot for commercial cases. It is anticipated that 20% of the cases filed in the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court (which is… Read more

There are some 142,000 small businesses in South Australia and an office dedicated to supporting dispute resolution and avoidance in this area was created in March 2012.  The independent body, headed by a small business Commissioner appointed by the Governor, is… Read more

The German mediation bill has long been a source of debate and disagreement between the German Parliament's two chambers. Indeed, disagreement over the terms of the bill was referred to mediation deploying provisions under the German Constitution providing for resolution by mediation of disputes between the… 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… Read more

The Inspector-General of Taxation published his Review into the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)'s use of early and alternative dispute resolution on 31 July 2012. The Review examines the effectiveness of the ATO's dispute resolution practices generally. The Inspector-General was requested to review procedures after a… Read more

Statistics issued by the Court Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre show that between 2007 and 2011 out of 16,080 disputes around 55% were settled through mediation. Ghana embraced ADR some time ago as a complement to the traditional court system in… Read more

On 21 June 2012 the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced that Consensio, a member of the Civil Mediation Council (CMC), will conduct training in mediation for employees from a group of 24 small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)… Read more

The Joint Oireachtas Committee for Justice, Defence and Equality received 16 submissions regarding the draft Mediation Bill, and held public hearings  between 9 - 23 May attended by various ADR institutions. All those involved in the hearings broadly welcomed the proposed… Read more

Lord Justice Jackson has recently strongly endorsed the central role ADR has to play in our civil litigation landscape. A recommendation in his January 2010 report on civil litigation costs was that all litigation lawyers and judges should be properly… Read more