Just over two months after the announcement that the UK would join the Singapore Convention, the UK government has now taken the first step by signing the Convention. The signing in New York happened with little fanfare but is a welcome confirmation of the government’s commitment. The domestic implementing legislation and court rules now need … Read more

Following the UK government’s announcement last week that it will sign and ratify the Singapore Convention, many UK and foreign businesses are now turning their minds to what that means for international commercial disputes with a UK connection. The UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation establishes a global framework for the direct … Read more

The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) has released the results of its latest Mediation Audit, the first since the start of the pandemic. For the past 20 years, CEDR’s biennial surveys of mediators have provided a snapshot of civil and commercial mediation in the UK, identifying key trends and developments.  The latest survey received … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills recently partnered with the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM) to  survey a cross-section of the dispute resolution community on attitudes to compulsory mediation in arbitration and mediation. The results indicate that there seems to be support for some degree of mandatory mediation in both litigation and arbitration, but that effective … Read more

A second edition of our text on class actions in England and Wales, co-authored by Herbert Smith Freehills lawyers, has been published in the UK by Sweet & Maxwell. The work takes the reader through the life cycle of a class action claim and includes a chapter devoted to the settlement of class actions. Focusing … Read more

On Wednesday 19 October 2022 at 12:30 pm (GMT) speakers from Herbert Smith Freehills will join the panel for a live London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM) webinar on compulsory mediation in arbitration and litigation. Read more

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a public consultation on Increasing the use of mediation in the civil justice system. It has also given an indication that the government intends for the UK to sign and ratify the Singapore Convention on Mediated Settlements. The consultation issues The consultation document seeks views on two distinct … 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