Introduction In 5th century BC Athens, the laws of the city were inscribed on pillars, originally made of wood, later of stone. An orator at a trial, therefore, wishing to refer the jury of citizens to the law (for it was not the role of the presiding magistrate to do so) literally pointed to […]
Dispute Systems Design (DSD) – ADR activism
DSD isn’t new. William Ury and colleagues in Harvard over 35 years ago developed a new possibility of resolving industry disputes based on mutual interests. On 8th February 2018 at Kings College, Dr Diego Faleck described the practical impact of designing a relatively recent dispute resolution system in Brazil following the plane crash on 17 July 2007 in which 199 people tragically […]
Mediation competitions encourage confidence
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 […]
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 […]
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.
Mediation Uncovered!
Thanks to all today’s panellists for a stimulating and revealing afternoon facilitated by Helen Curtis at Garden Court Chambers. Eileen Carroll QC (Hon), Graham Ross and Stephen Walker spoke about the pressure of being a client, the responsibility of making a possibly life-changing decision during mediation and the need to know beforehand what you want out of […]
Mediate your Dispute!
Most people who find themselves in a dispute want to find a solution as quickly, cheaply and easily as possible. Litigation is rarely that solution: disputes can take over parties’ lives and the cost is high, in terms of money, time and wellbeing. Whatever the value or the complexity of the dispute, it is likely […]
CMC Annual Conference: ‘Meeting Needs, Making Life Better’
The Christchurch experience made graphic sense of this year’s title for the annual Civil Mediation Council (‘CMC’) conference. Geoff Sharpe from New Zealand set out the role of mediation following the Christchurch earthquake in 2010. Disputes had arisen between home owners and insurers and focused on whether property would be restored or completely rebuilt. Undoubtedly […]
