ADR

Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?

Edward Nyman considers recent themes emerging in cases where parties turn down mediation

A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996

Masood Ahmed analyses an arbitration case that highlights the tension between party autonomy & finality

The Civil Mediation Council (CMC) has launched a public consultation on a draft Code of Professional Practice for Mediators

Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial

What are the costs penalties when a defendant won’t mediate? Masood Ahmed & Sanjay Dave Singh consider the case law

Nick Marsh & Alex Bromwich on s 72 of the Arbitration Act 1996: three 2025 judgments show that parties should act promptly & plead consistently

Early determination is no longer a novelty in arbitration. In NLJ this week, Gustavo Moser, arbitration specialist lawyer at Lexis+, charts the global embrace of summary disposal powers, now embedded in the Arbitration Act 1996 and mirrored worldwide. Tribunals may swiftly dismiss claims with ‘no real prospect of succeeding’, but only if fairness is preserved

To gain ground in arbitration, measured early determination is key, writes Gustavo Moser