Court Suspends Enforcement Of Mandatory ADR Rules

On February 12, 2013, the Court of Queen's Bench released a memorandum announcing that it will not enforce the mandatory dispute resolution Rules "until such time as the judicial complement of the Court and other resources permit reinstatement."

Since their introduction in November 2010, the mandatory dispute resolution Rules (8.4(3)(a) and 8.5(1)) imposed an obligation on all parties to participate in at least one dispute resolution process before the Court would allow the matter to proceed to trial. Those processes included:

• a dispute resolution process in the private or government sectors involving an impartial third person, such as mediation;
• a Court annexed dispute resolution process;