UK: Civil Justice Council establishes Judicial ADR Liaison Committee

It has been reported that the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has established a Judicial ADR Liaison Committee (the Committee). The formation of the Committee was one of several recommendations made by the CJC's ADR Working Group in its November 2018 ADR and Civil Justice Report (the Report) considering various ways to encourage the use of ADR in the civil justice system (which are summarised here in a previous post).

The Report concluded that stakeholders (ADR professionals, lawyers, and judges) would benefit from the creation of the Committee to monitor and support the role of ADR in the civil justice system. It suggested that the Committee would (among other responsibilities) be involved in any further steps for greater regulation of mediation and would monitor the promotion of the use of ADR in several areas, including law schools and legal practitioners' professional conduct requirements. The Working Group therefore recommended in the Report that "a liaison committee should meet on a regular basis at which ADR professionals and Judges can monitor and give advice on the role of ADR in the rapidly changing Civil Justice landscape".

We understand that the Committee has now been established and that, in accordance with the recommendations of the Report, its mandate involves reporting to judicial bodies on several ADR-related issues. It will advise on:

• the encouragement of the use of ADR;
• the awareness of ADR (including in legal education);
• the availability of ADR (including issues of funding); and
• the adaptability of ADR in relation to new developments in the civil justice system.

The establishment of the Committee will likely assist with the consideration and potential implementation of other recommendations in the Report.