ABSTRACT
The application of construction dispute procedures has changed dramatically since the start of the new century and this has resulted in an expanded use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in many countries and mediation in particular. This expansion has been accompanied by a corresponding push from governments throughout the world to encourage its use. These developments have taken place extremely rapidly and represent significant changes to the legal environments within which national and international construction industries conduct their businesses. However, ADR and mediation development has taken diverse forms in different legal jurisdictions. For example, some national construction industries have developed the use of clauses which obligate parties to use ADR or mediation in standard form contracts (SFC). A number of governments or states have introduced legal frameworks to support or encourage mediation or more generically ADR, which might be in the form of court rules which persuade parties to consider mediation or even make its use mandatory. Other countries have taken measures to implement ADR statutes, or more specifically Mediation Acts, which delineate some parts of mediation practices. These changes have inevitably led to a developing legal jurisprudence in a number of countries concerning such areas as the validity of contract clauses or statutory interpretations of the rules requiring or governing mediation use.
