The Road To Compulsory Mediation

From 1^st October 2024, a set of changes to the Civil Procedure Rules will expressly provide that, in appropriate cases, the court may give directions "ordering or encouraging the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR)". The previous wording only provided for the court to encourage or require parties to consider ADR.

This follows the position established by the Court of Appeal in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 in November 2023. In this case, Mr Churchill issued proceedings against his local council after Japanese knotweed encroached from the local authority's land onto his. The council applied for a stay arguing that Mr Churchill had not considered ADR, such as the local authority's complaints procedure.