Stronger ADR Rules Needed

Extract from the APIL Weekly Newsletter - 13 December 2018

A Civil Justice Council (CJC) working group recommends strengthening the rules which require parties in a dispute to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

In its final report on ADR the group also recommended setting up a “liaison committee” of judges, ADR professionals and lawyers, to build on the CJC group’s work. It would also focus on how ADR can be further developed.

The report suggests that this working group could help the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to consider how ADR can best be offered in small claims personal injury cases, and also help to develop the “case officer” role in the online court. The paper also recommends that awareness of ADR amongst the public should be increased through the development of a website which sets out the different types of ADR.

The CJC group’s paper is available  at
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CJC-ADRWG-Report-FINAL-Dec-2018.pdf