In Roundstone Nurseries Limited v Stephenson Holdings Limited [2009] EWHC 1431 (TCC) a party was ordered to pay the costs thrown away by its late withdrawal from mediation. In considering whether to make such an order, the court will consider the conduct of the parties and in particular whether or not the party withdrawing from … Read more

The International Mediation Institute (IMI) was launched in 2007 in the Hague as an international public policy initiative to provide international mediator standards and training. Its stated goal is to generate enhanced confidence in mediators by way of recognised mediator standards in an otherwise unregulated profession. Qualifying mediators are registered with IMI and IMI certified … Read more

On 15 September 2009 a new ADR law was published in Dubai. This creates the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes which will operate as an affiliate of the Dubai courts. Significantly the ADR law will make it compulsory for parties to first refer disputes to the centre which would otherwise be heard before the … Read more

The Civil Justice Reform, Practice Direction 31, due to come into effect in January 2010, gives Hong Kong courts new case management powers to encourage and facilitate ADR between litigants. Parties and their lawyers will have a duty to assist the court in achieving this end, and will need to demonstrate that they have achieved … Read more

A significant practical step in the development of ADR in India was evidenced in September 2008 by the Delhi Mediation Centre becoming the latest member of the Asian Mediation Association (AMA). This builds on a 2002 amendment to the Indian Civil Procedure Code which attempted to increase the number of mandatory references of litigants by … Read more

In June 2008 “Expert Determination”, a book published by Sweet & Maxwell and co-authored by Herbert Smith partner James Farrell was launched. Now in its 4th edition, “Expert Determination” is the leading title on this increasingly used dispute resolution process. It remains the only work which focuses exclusively on expert determination and has been referred … Read more

In 2007 Hebert Smith undertook a major research study into how organisations were using ADR. 21 organisations participated in the research and came from a range of industry sectors and included some of Herbert Smith's major clients including BP, GE, KPMG, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Zurich, Virgin, and PwC. The research report The inside … Read more

In the recent case of Farm Assist Limited (In Liquidation) v The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (No. 2) [2009] EWHC 1102 (TCC) Mr Justice Ramsey considered an application by a mediator to set aside a witness summons. Ramsey J held that in exceptional circumstances, the confidentiality provisions between the … Read more