Procedure

There is no evidence that making mediation compulsory rather than voluntary produces better results, a review by the Scottish government has found.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a challenge to the abolition of most oral permission-to-appeal hearings before it. The rule change was “miles away” from infringing the common law right of access to justice.

The flexible operating hours pilots for civil and family courts are to begin on 2 September, the Ministry of Justice has announced. It said the aim was to test whether this would offer “better access to justice”.

A personal injury fee-earner created and backdated documents in a bid to mislead the court and others that he had met its deadlines, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.

A north-west law firm has won what it believes is the first contested case against installers of faulty cavity wall insulation. This has long been seen as a potential area of growth for claimant firms.

No5 Chambers has launched a fixed-fee private early neutral evaluation service for claims worth up to £25,000, echoing the financial dispute resolution appointment in family proceedings

There should be a presumption that tribunals will order employers to pay employees’ costs if they lose a discrimination case in which sexual harassment has been alleged, MPs said today.

The Supreme Court is not keen to entertain appeals on procedural points, its annual report has indicated. It received more appeal applications on procedure than any other area of law but only allowed one.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has adjourned a decision on whether to authorise class representatives in the trucks cartel litigation pending a possible Supreme Court hearing in the Mastercard case.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that the Motor Insurers Bureau has to pay compensation to a man injured by an uninsured vehicle, even though it was on private land.