Application of the Limitation Act 1980 to expert determination proceedings

In Braceforce Warehousing Limited v Mediterranean Shopping Company (UK) Limited [2009] EWHC 3839 (a judgment dated June 2009 but only recently made available) Mr Justice Ramsey considered, obiter, whether the Limitation Act 1980 applies to expert determination proceedings. The court held that an expert appointed under a contractual expert determination clause had jurisdiction to determine a contractual … Read more

TCC revisits adjudicator’s jurisdiction in Aedifice v Shah [2010]

In the recent case of Aedifice Partnership v Shah [2010] EWHC 2106, Mr Justice Akenhead in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) had to decide whether a party had adequately reserved its right to object to an adjudicator’s jurisdiction. Akenhead J found that an adjudicator’s view on jurisdiction was not determinative unless the parties had agreed that … Read more

ECJ issues its opinion in support of Italian mandatory mediation rules

The implementation of new domestic Italian legislation requires parties to engage in mediation as a pre-condition to accessing the Italian courts in many types of disputes. The new legislation coincided with the requirements outlined in the Mediation Directive and was aimed at reducing some of the backlog of over 5 million cases pending in Italy.On … Read more

New laws in Russia set out sound framework for mediation

On 30 July 2010, following several years of debate regarding the need for ADR in the Russian justice system, the federal law on alternative dispute resolution procedure with the participation of an intermediary (193-FZ) was promulgated. In addition, a separate federal law has introduced amendments to certain legal acts relating to the Mediation Law. Both … Read more

JAMS ADR Centre launches e-book on mediation advocacy

An e-book addressing mediation across European jurisdictions has recently been published by JAMS International ADR Centre in Rome. The experienced mediator and trainer Dwight Golan of JAMS coordinated the project. Herbert Smith’s ADR team contributed to the e-book by drafting the section for England & Wales. The e-book covers 12 jurisdictions (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, … Read more

Validity of provision requiring one party to bear the costs of adjudication

In Yuanda (UK) Co Ltd v WW Gear Construction Ltd [2010] EWHC 720, the adjudication clause in a trade contract provided that if the contractor referred a dispute to adjudication, it would be liable for its own legal and professional costs and those of the employer, regardless of the eventual decision. Edwards-Stuart J in the … Read more

Compulsory mediation launched in Italy’s civil courts

The long-awaited legislative decree addressing “mediation aimed at conciliation of civil and commercial disputes” came into effect on 20 March. The driving force behind the law is to reduce the back log of civil cases pending in Italy, which has reached 5.4 million. The Italian government is strongly relying on mediation to eliminate at least … Read more