A recent Court of Appeal decision has highlighted the need to exercise caution when referring to privileged material in settlement agreements. The court held that the claimant was not entitled to withhold from inspection communications that had been incorporated into a settlement agreement with one of five defendants. That was despite the fact that, at … Read more
The Court of Appeal has held that the court has power to order an early neutral evaluation (ENE) by a judge even where one or more parties do not consent to that course. There was no reason to imply into the relevant rule giving the court power to order ENE any limitation based on the … Read more
As has been well publicised, the new Singapore Convention seeks to establish a global enforcement regime for settlement agreements resulting from mediation in cross-border commercial disputes. Signed on 7 August 2019 by 46 countries, the Convention could feasibly be in operation as early as the first half of next year (it will enter into force … Read more
As the spotlight shines on mediated settlements with the signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 7 August 2019, it is timely to recall that settlement agreements, like any other contract, are only as useful as they are enforceable. While parties may often feel that they have completed the hard work in reaching a … Read more
The Singapore Convention, more formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, was signed today in Singapore by 46 countries – a record number of first-day signatories for a UN trade convention. While not including the UK or any EU countries, the signatories do include the world’s two largest … Read more
The Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution has announced the release of revised Swiss Rules of Mediation, which entered into force on 1 July 2019. The revised Rules replace the first harmonised Swiss Rules of Mediation, adopted in 2007. The stated aim of the revisions is to further encourage their use by clarifying, shortening and simplifying their … Read more
The High Court has held that correspondence marked “without prejudice save as to costs” and which described the conduct of prior “without prejudice” (WP) negotiations (including a mediation and subsequent discussions) was admissible in an application for costs against the claimant’s lawyers: Willers v Joyce & Ors [2019] EWHC 937 (Ch). The court accepted that … Read more
A trend toward combining alternative dispute resolution processes (typically mediation and arbitration) is gaining traction internationally and is being particularly driven in Asia by the Belt and Road Initiative. With China at the heart of the Belt and Road, a more consensus-driven approach to dispute resolution, reflecting Asian values and promoting mediation, looks set to … Read more
Jan O’Neill Professional Support Lawyer, London The UK Government has published legislation to effectively revoke the implementation of the EU Mediation Directive (2008/52/EC) after Brexit. The Cross-Border Mediation (EU Directive) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) were made on 1 March 2019 and will come into effect on exit day, whenever that occurs. Why? The development … Read more
