Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Courts ordering or encouraging ADR in civil claims: key authorities and developments, including Churchill and October 2024 CPR reforms (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines significant and illustrative rulings in which the court has promoted or compelled the parties to contemplate or participate in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation, with a view to settling their civil dispute. It should be read alongside Practice Note: Court powers to order or encourage ADR in civil proceedings, which explains parties’ duties to consider ADR and the courts’ powers to direct or promote consideration of ADR, both pre-action and during proceedings. Note that, from 1 October 2024, the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were revised to confer further powers enabling the court to require parties to use ADR, and to give added guidance on costs where parties breach an ADR order or unreasonably refuse to engage in ADR. The amendments appear in The Civil Procedure (Amendment No 3) Rules 2024, SI 2024/839, together with related Practice Direction changes—see: LNB News 31/07/2024 6—Civil Procedure (Amendment No 3) Rules 2024 and LNB News 02/08/2024 51—171st Practice Direction update—in force 1 October 2024. This context should be borne in mind when reviewing decisions handed down before these amendments. It is therefore relevant to assess pre-amendment authorities and outcomes in light of the strengthened ADR framework now operative...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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