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 Civil Justice Council’s ADR working group has released its final report on ADR and Civil Justice, following consultation on its interim report released last year. The broad mandate of the review was “to maintain the search for the right relationship between civil justice and ADR” and to promote debate over possible reforms. The report … Read more
The High Court has ordered indemnity costs against a claimant who made repeated and serious allegations of fraud against the defendants and then discontinued the proceedings without explanation: PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines v Leeds & Anor (Trustees of the estate of Boris Berezovsky) & Ors [2018] EWHC 1735 (Ch). The court endorsed earlier authority … Read more
The Global Pound Conference series – a unique and ambitious initiative to inform how civil and commercial disputes are resolved in the 21st century – brought together over 4000 dispute resolution stakeholders, at 28 conferences spanning 24 countries worldwide. Herbert Smith Freehills, global founding sponsor of the series, has teamed up with PwC and IMI (International Mediation … Read more
All too often, dispute resolution clauses may be treated as part of the boilerplate: the usual wording thrown in, with perhaps little thought for the particular circumstances. But the question of how a dispute will be resolved – whether by litigation or arbitration, where and under what law – may make all the difference to … Read more
On 6 March, the Civil Justice Council held a workshop to discuss the recommendations made in its interim report on ADR, which was subject to consultation late last year. The interim report expresses concerns regarding a perceived underuse of ADR and suggests corrective measures, including a power for the court to determine whether costs sanctions should be imposed for unreasonable … Read more
The Global Pound Conference (GPC) series concluded on 6 July, with the final conference held at the Guildhall in London. This landmark project (of which Herbert Smith Freehills is the lead sponsor) has seen more than 3,000 corporate and disputes professionals come together in conferences spanning 29 cities across the globe throughout 2016-17, with many more following … Read more
A recent Court of Appeal decision is the latest instance of the court expressly sending a message to litigants confirming what it expects of them regarding mediation within the court process: Thakkar v Patel [2017] EWCA Civ 117. Upholding a first instance decision which it described as “severe, but not so severe that this court should … Read more
