Arbitration & Mediation

For instance, when NZ courts tweaked costs so 'user pays', parties could get a day's mediation for the same price as it cost them to get their case in the hearing ready queue, making for a very easy economic decision and an increase in usage of mediation.

The report includes;
>The basic facts ? how much civil litigation there is, and what charges are made
>How civil litigation is or could be funded ? legal aid, before or after-the-event insurance, third party funding, conditional fee agreements (no-win, no fee), contingency fees
>Fixed costs ? assessing the present regime
>Personal injuries litigation
>Controlling the costs of litigation ? case management, cost capping, recoverability of success fees
>Regimes where there is no cost shifting ? small claims, employment tribunals;
>The assessment of costs by the court
>Review of costs systems in other countries.

Commentary on the report here