The past 12 months have seen significant strides for mediation within the civil justice system. In November 2023 the seminal Court of Appeal case Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil confirmed that it is not a breach of human rights to order parties to mediate, and that a court could order unwilling parties to engage in a non-court-based dispute resolution process, provided that the order did not impair the very essence of the claimant’s right to proceed to a judicial hearing and was proportionate to achieving the legitimate aim of settling the dispute fairly, quickly and at reasonable cost. This decision was followed by a change to the Civil Procedure Rules which came into effect on 1 October 2024 bringing the Rules into line with the Churchill judgment. The changes ensure that mediation and other forms of dispute resolution are now part of the overriding objective and that there are costs sanctions for failure to comply with the rules.

Less has been heard about the role of mediation outside of the court process and how it has an increasingly positive impact on public life, bringing its benefits to the areas of health, housing, education, and public safety, while at the same time helping to prevent disputes from escalating to the court process.

The Civil Mediation Council, whose charitable objectives include raising awareness of this form of dispute resolution, have been working across both court and non-court-based initiatives to help embed mediation into wider consciousness.

Former solicitor and Deputy Chief Executive of the Civil Mediation Council, Victoria Harris explains how ‘culture change around how we approach conflict is key to preventing and resolving disputes. Mediation has the power reduce court backlogs, as well as, free up GP time and reduce the burden on policing for example’. Victoria, who is also a Trustee for Mediation Hertfordshire, innovated a scheme for mediation to be socially prescribed from primary care in Hertfordshire. She explains how that project ‘helped individuals to successfully navigate family disputes and workplace conflict, reducing the medicalisation of disputes and the need for repeat appointments with a GP’.

‘The scope for the expansion of mediation is wide and requires imagination and the sharing of ideas,’ says Victoria. ‘At last year’s CMC annual conference one session looked at the role of mediation training in prisons and its impact on creating a calmer, more cohesive prison population as well as its impact on reoffending. Many lawyers are now also trained mediators and I wonder how many have a full appreciation of the varied arenas in which their skills can be deployed?'

This year’s CMC conference once again applies a wide lens to mediation and seeks to cater effectively for mediators who work in the commercial and workplace sectors. However, it also looks more widely at the impact of peer mediation in schools, the growing potential for mediation in healthcare and how within the legal academic sector, student staffed mediation clinics can support cases already within the judicial system. An overdue examination of the client experience of mediation will also be studied, as will learning from mediation complaints.

The Conference also offers an opportunity to understand more about working with multiple parties and their legal advisers; elder mediation; mediating high net worth family disputes and the impact of new government legislation on employment disputes as well as overcoming barriers to workplace mediation. A keynote session on day one will explore what mediators and crisis negotiators can learn from each other, drawing on research into conversation analysis to provide insights for mediators across all sectors.

The conference will take place online on the afternoons of 6 and 7 November with an in- person networking event included for the evening on 6 November. The event is set up to include main sessions and break out rooms so that delegates can focus on areas of interest. All sessions will be recorded and available to delegates after the event, and attendance provides mediator attendees with all necessary CPD hours for the year.

Chair of the Civil Mediation Council, barrister and mediator, Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho adds:

‘The changes to the CPR which follow Churchill, and the future direction for dispute resolution, are essential knowledge for all disputes lawyers. But mediation skills are powerful in so many more situations. Mediation skills are being used to real and profound impact for resolving conflicts and improving relationships in the business world, our workplaces, our communities and for the wider benefit of society.’

For more information about the work of the Civil Mediation Council and this year’s annual conference visit CMC Conference 2024 - A Broader Reach (civilmediation.org)