ABSTRACT
Using the England and Wales (EW hereafter) civil procedure rules (CPR) mediation provisions as a commencement point,2 this opening chapter critically assesses the widening range of court-connected mediation possibilities available within the commercial disputes resolution sphere. In the first section, key mediation theory principles are identified and explained. From here, the EW commercial mediation-rules framework is considered, as a means to introduce other comparative Anglo-American jurisdiction analyses. Cases and commentaries provide additional support for the contention that court-connected mediation boundaries are limitless, in the sense that no commercial mediation dispute is likely unsuited to a mediation attempt. The third section offers a brief prediction concerning mediation’s likely future scope, where mediation will be the accepted first formal step in every commercial dispute. The conclusions section affirm the proposition that those cases where mediation fails are now regarded by many commentators as exceptions that tend to prove the rule asserted in this assessment.
Key mediation principles Mediation may be defined as any process devised to seek settlement of a disputed issue or controversy through an independent person placed between the two contending parties to assist them. Mediation success is measured in two ways: i) where the entire dispute is settled between the parties; ii) the parties move closer to settlement (‘narrowing of issues’) where the foundation is established for future settlement. Mediation forms part of the now well-entrenched dispute resolution (DR) continuum. DR has evolved from its ‘alternative dispute
