Completed projects
Mediation pilot study (2005)
The application of ADR in public law is an issue of ongoing concern for PLP as part of its mission statement of promoting the quality of, and access to, public law remedies. To this end, we’ve been engaged in generating discussions on the issue of ADR and public law for several years. Arguments about the advantages and disadvantages of mediation generally are often inconclusive, notwithstanding that discussions of alternative dispute resolution have been taking place for years. Aspects of ADR which are hailed by some as beneficial are invariably hailed by others as dangers to be avoided at all costs. To add to those uncertainties, no distinction is usually made in these discussions between the private and public contexts, and it is difficult to find empirical data relating specifically to mediation in public law.
A 2005 Nuffield grant enabled PLP to conduct a research pilot on mediation and judicial review, exploring how best to establish a much needed independent evidence base for investigating the value and the limits of the use of mediation to resolve public law disputes in the context of judicial review in the Administrative Court. The pilot confirmed the absence of relevant empirical data, despite the intense interest and debates surrounding the issue, and the urgent need for it. Further research is being planned.
Consultancy