header-logo header-logo

ADR after Churchill

15 December 2023 / Tony Allen
Issue: 8053 / Categories: Opinion , ADR
printer mail-detail
151503
Tony Allen takes an in-depth look at Churchill & considers its impact

Quite the most significant decision for many years, in terms of influencing the development of mediation within civil justice, is to be found in the judgment of a very strong Court of Appeal in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil CBC [2023] EWCA Civ 1416. Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, sat with Lady Chief Justice Carr and Lord Justice Birss, the Deputy Head of Civil Justice, and gave the lead judgment, which in effect reverses the 2004 Court of Appeal’s opinion expressed in Halsey v Milton Keynes NHS Trust [2003] EWCA Civ 576 that for a court to order parties to mediate infringed their Art 6 right to a fair trial. Churchill now gives judicial authority to the view expressed in the Civil Justice Council’s report, ‘Compulsory ADR June 2021’, that courts may order parties to mediate or use other dispute resolution processes even against party objections, ‘provided that the order made does not impair the very essence of the claimant’s

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll