Originially from: World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR)

Global Trends in Mediation
by
Nadja Alexander
Editor, International Mediation
Readers will recall that the October 2002 issue of WAMR
introduced the Global Trends in Mediation series by featuring two short
essays on mediation development in Australia and Germany. In Part Two
of the Global Trends series, the reader is offered essays from the common
law jurisdictions of England, Scotland, and Wales, on the one hand, and
the civil law jurisdictions of Austria and Denmark, on the other.
(A)
ADR in England and Wales: A Successful Case of Public Private
Partnership
by
Dr. Loukas A Mistelis
Significant reforms to state judicial systems have emerged
throughout England and Wales over the past decade. These “access to
justice” reforms have come to shore with the wave of liberalization and
privatization of public services that swept the Western world as well as the
so-called emerging markets of the late 20th century. The United Kingdom
has been one of the driving forces of such reforms in Europe.
The two most important pieces of legislative reform are the new
English Arbitration Act of 1996 and the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR)
which came into effect on April 26, 1999. The CPR implement the
changes recommended by Lord Woolf’s “Access to Justice” Report and
provide wide support for ADR. The driving force behind the reforms
were lawyers involved in commercial litigation, a handful of academics,
and the courts. With respect to government, both the Lord Chancellor’s
Department and the Department of Trade and Industry played a significant
role in the enhancement of ADR.