As we return to our desks, filled with anticipation at what a new year might hold for us I thought it worth a moment to take stock. Where are we as a business and as a mediation sector?
2023 brought several developments for the mediation sector as a whole. The Ministry of Justice has committed to integrating mediation into the court process for all claims on the small claims track and continues to consider whether mediation may be more fully integrated in the civil justice system for claim values above £10,000. I see this as a positive step, by ensuring that mediation, like providing evidence or witness statements, is an accepted step on the road to trial. However, the success of any form of mediation hangs upon the skills of the mediator and the time given for the process. The question remains as to whether forcing people to mediation is going to be a successful policy. I personally still believe that a lot more needs to be done to educate all parties in what mediation is and what to expect from it before we will see real benefits from “integrated” mediation.
2023 also saw the UK signing up to the Singapore Convention on Mediation. I remain unconvinced that such a Convention was necessary; however, if it enables international parties to have more faith in the mediation process, then that is probably a positive. The Convention also, by emulating the New York Convention, perhaps gives mediation, as an international dispute resolution choice, more credibility alongside arbitration. On that note, in June 2024, we look forward to the 5th edition of London International Disputes Week. In co-chairing this conference, I have been keen to ensure that mediation has an equal place at the table alongside litigation and arbitration as a means of dispute resolution. I hope that I will see many of you in London in June.
On the domestic front, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Churchill, has been a positive development for mediation. It has put to bed the argument promulgated in Halsey that ordering parties to mediation might be against their Article 6 rights. The Churchill decision makes clear that individual judges can order parties to mediation. We will all be watching upcoming court decisions with interest to see how this area of law develops.
Further developments on the domestic front include the recent formal launch of the Online Procedure Rules Committee. This will provide governance and develop data standards for a reformed civil justice system. There will, no doubt, be implications for all those in the civil justice system and, for the mediation sector, it will be interesting to see how technology might allow further use of mediation in dispute resolution.
As for IPOS, we continue to go from strength to strength. This year we welcomed Beverley Vara to our panel. Beverley has been a full time mediator for 10 years but before that spent 20 years as a real estate litigator in private practice – the last 10 of which as partner leading the real estate litigation team at A&O. She brings real property related expertise and knowledge to her mediation practice.
IPOS continues to hold a strong reputation in the market – we were recognised by Who’s Who Legal as a leading global mediation provider with 20 of our mediators featured. The majority of our panel also continue to feature in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500. Claim values and the complexity of the cases that we are asked to mediate continue to grow but that is not how we measure success. Our success is measured in the feedback that we receive on the performance of our mediators. That feedback continues to be consistently high and I’m extremely proud to work with many of the UK’s leading mediators and a brilliant clerking team. As we enter our 29th year of operation, I look forward to continuing to work with them and our clients in the year ahead.
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