Neil Andrews presents the first comprehensive examination of the English system of civil justice, embracing not only court proceedings but mediation and arbitration. He provides an up-to-date account of recent changes within the English system of civil justice writing in a succinct and accessible style.
He explains the main institutions of civil litigation before the English courts, but notes the limitations and problems of court litigation, despite reforms to this formal and public system of adjudication. Many business and consumer disputes are now resolved by settlement negotiations, notably by resort to mediation. There has also been a resurgence of interest in arbitration.
Neil Andrews' quest for more satisfactory means of handling disputes is driven by various factors: the high cost of formal litigation; disputants' preference for confidentiality, control, speediness, and flexibility of outcome and Government's interest in economy. Furthermore, he states that English courts are keen to encourage resort to alternative forms of civil justice, notably mediation. Legal advisors, not just in England, are now familiar with the possibility that a dispute might proceed through various 'tiers': settlement discussions, mediated discussion, arbitration or court proceedings. These developments are part of a modern trend in many Western legal systems to reduce the problem of excessive and expensive resort to court proceedings.