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Churchill & mediation

15 March 2024 / David Burrows
Issue: 8063 / Categories: Opinion , Mediation , Family
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Churchill has confirmed a court may order ADR, but we need more believers, says David Burrows

The fallout from Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416, [2023] All ER (D) 04 (Dec) continues to scatter, but in an odd way. The UK’s own Ministry of Justice (as reported in ‘Compulsory mediation ruled out for separating couples’, The Law Society Gazette, 26 January 2024) seems not to have read—or at least not to have understood—the judgment in Churchill.

Sir Geoffrey Vos MR defined the issue for the Court of Appeal in Churchill at [1] as ‘whether a court can lawfully order the parties to court proceedings to engage in a non-court-based dispute resolution process, and, if so, in what circumstances it should do so’. After reciting a variety of case law, including European jurisprudence, he concluded at [58] that ‘as a matter of law, the court can lawfully stay existing proceedings for, or order, the parties to engage in a non-court-based dispute resolution process’ (emphasis

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

1 Hare Court—Peter Mitchell KC & Amber Sheridan

1 Hare Court—Peter Mitchell KC & Amber Sheridan

Leading family law set strengthens ranks with high-profile additions

Thackray Williams—Jennifer Nicol

Thackray Williams—Jennifer Nicol

Firm bolsters commercial team with senior employment partner hire

Irwin Mitchell—Vijay Bange

Irwin Mitchell—Vijay Bange

Head of construction and engineering team appointed

NEWS
Proposed legislation to tighten the rules on pooled client accounts would place ‘substantial’ burdens on solicitors, the Law Society has warned
Increasing numbers of family mediators are cutting back on legal aid work or leaving the sector altogether due to low fees—creating a supply shortfall for low-income families
Lawyers acting in cases funded by damages-based agreements (DBAs) cannot claim their share of the damages if no damages are awarded, the High Court has clarified
Lawyers have given a cautious welcome to a Ministry of Justice decision to increase Crown Court sitting days
Barristers have been targeted with death threats, rape threats, threats to their family members, physical surveillance and threats from politicians, chair of the Bar Barbara Mills KC has reported
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