Untangling the knotty issue of compulsory ADR in court proceedings

A significant judgment considering the place in court litigation of non-court-based or alternative dispute resolution procedures (together referred to as “ADR” ) was handed down at the end of 2023. 

In the case of Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil [2023] EWCA 1416, the Court of Appeal held that the court can lawfully order parties to court proceedings to engage in ADR, provided that the order does not impair the very essence of the claimant’s right to proceed to a judicial hearing and is proportionate to achieving the legitimate aim of settling the dispute fairly, quickly and at reasonable cost. This finding turns 20 years’ of legal thought on its head.

In this briefing we look at the Churchill case and what it means for ADR in the UK.