Over the past year, both the civil judiciary and the Ministry of Justice have made clear their shared policy aim of bringing about a paradigm shift in the civil justice system, to one in which the potential for ADR is embedded into court procedure and culture at all stages of the process (see, for example, … Read more

The Ministry of Justice has published a Report summarising the responses it received to a Call for Evidence it issued in August last year. Although entitled a Call for Evidence on Dispute Resolution in England and Wales, the document was in fact focused on methods of resolving disputes apart from litigation –  including mediation, conciliation, … Read more

As we previously reported, the UK government is currently consulting on whether the UK should sign the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, more commonly known as the Singapore Convention. The consultation closes on 1 April 2022. The Convention establishes a framework under which Member States agree to recognise and enforce settlements of … Read more

The recently released 11th edition of the Commercial Court Guide includes a number of revisions to the section regarding the use of ADR – including a change of terminology to “NDR” (for “negotiated dispute resolution”). The revisions will not require any substantial change in day to day practice, and a comparison against the previous edition might … Read more

The last year has seen a notable increase in focus on the role of ADR in the English civil justice system, from both the judiciary and government. Amongst the various moving parts in what is becoming a crowded landscape of developments are: the Master of the Rolls’ vision for out-of-court resolution options to be fully … Read more

Recent Civil Justice Council proposals for reforms to the civil pre-action protocols (PAPs) have sparked some concern that, if they are intended to apply to commercial disputes via a default general protocol, they would represent a departure from current practice and a significantly more prescriptive approach. Amongst the more controversial suggestions is the introduction of … Read more

The UK government yesterday launched a consultation seeking views on whether the UK should sign the Singapore Convention.  The consultation closes on 1 April 2022. The Singapore Convention More formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (full text here), the Convention came into force in September 2020.  It … Read more

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has recommended a greater use of compulsory ADR within the civil courts of England and Wales. In particular, it has concluded that court-mandated ADR is not incompatible with Article 6 of the European Human Rights Convention (right to a fair trial) and is therefore lawful. That conclusion is contained in … Read more