The Civil Justice Council’s ADR Working Party produced its ADR Interim Report last October, appropriately during Mediation Awareness Week. Within the Report is the recognition that there is a challenge to make ADR ‘culturally normal’. One way of trying to achieve this is to ensure that today’s students – including law students – are very […]
ADR and Civil Justice
Mediation Awareness Week (MAW), in case you missed it, happened between 14th – 20th October. This was its second year and it included a range of events across a number of sectors listed here. For example the panel of speakers at the Medical Mediation Foundation event looked at the ethics as well as the practicalities of […]
Is it time for our own Mediation Act?
Catrin Lewis of Garden Court Mediation reflects on progress in Ireland to put mediation on the statute book. The UK as a member of the EU has been required to comply with the European Mediation Directive 2008/52/EC in respect of cross-border disputes since 2011 and the Civil Procedure Rules contain enforcement provisions as well as […]
Enforcement and dispute resolution: post-Brexit
Helen Curtis of Garden Court Mediation comments on enforcement and dispute resolution post-Brexit. While this blog is primarily about mediation, it is interesting to note methods of dispute resolution wherever they occur. Even if mediation is not the dispute resolution mechanism of choice, the skills associated with mediation can usefully underpin a dispute resolution process. […]
Mr Justice Francis: when mediation would be of benefit
The chronology of what will happen to Charlie Gard’s life has provoked strong reactions from many quarters. This post does not deal with the substantive and important issues of Charlie’s life but more with the suggestion made by Mr Justice Francis on 11th April 2017 and reiterated on Monday 24th July 2017 as to how mediation may be helpful […]
The Court of Appeal speaks again: Gore v Naheed
By David Watkinson, Garden Court Mediation. In May this year I blogged about the case of Thakkar v Patel [2017] EWCA Civ 117 as an example of a case in which the Court of Appeal was encouraging parties to mediate their dispute or face serious cost consequences [Mediation? “Get on with it” says the Court of Appeal].
Objections to Choosing Mediation
“Why do people choose to ask a neutral third (Judge or Arbitrator) to make a decision for them in a dispute, rather than choose to make a decision for themselves in a negotiation, mediated by a neutral third (Mediator)?” What is it that fundamentally causes people to choose to take the risk of litigation and […]
Mediation? ‘Get on with it’ says the Court of Appeal
For some time courts at all levels have sought to encourage parties to mediate or, at least, show that mediation has been seriously considered by imposing costs sanctions in the event of failure to do so. The case of Thakkar v Patel [2017] EWCA Civ 117 (Jackson LJ, Briggs LJ) is a recent example which applies to claimants and defendants alike.
Making Mediation Mainstream
The way litigation is approached is set to shift. The significant proposals emanating from Lord Justices Briggs’ Civil Courts Structure Review and the outcome of Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Fixed Recoverable Costs are creating waves. Attention may soon be placed on forms of dispute resolution other than the court process, in particular mediation. A recent example […]
Legalising Mediation
Ireland has taken a significant step towards bringing mediation within the remit of its statute book. The Mediation Bill 2012 which emerged from Ireland has now been superseded by its Mediation Bill 2017 and sets out a statutory framework for the future of mediation. Just because it’s a Bill, does not mean mediators have to be […]
