Press Release

17 June 2006

Poland - ADR Group Joins the Lord Chief Justice in Warsaw

The ADR Group. leading UK mediation provider in conjunction with top law firm Bevans Solicitors, the British Embassy in Warsaw and the Polish Justice Ministry were invited to present to the Polish Embassy at the palace of Staszic in Warsaw on 14 June 2006, focusing specifically on the topic of the future integration of mediation in Poland.

Several international key speakers were present at the event including The Rt. Hon the Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and Judge Ales Zalar President of the Court of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Lord Phillips addressed the subject of the approach of the Courts in England and Wales to mediation and the advantages of mediation as well as clarifying the role in the UK of the Judiciary in mediation.

Lord Phillips indicated that he was in favour of judges encouraging parties to mediate disputes and even of judges taking on the role of the mediator themselves.He did however comment that a judge who had acted as a mediator in a case which did not settle should not subsequently be allowed to try the case in court, sitting as a judge. saw no reason why this should not equally be the case in Poland. His view was that having learned confidential matters from the parties in the mediation, it would be difficult for him to ignore those matters when subsequently going to try the case and the parties themselves will be apprehensive about disclosing confidential matters to a judge who might latterly hear the case.

(Left to right) Michael Lind Managing Director of ADR Group, Alex Bevan Senior Partner at Bevans Solicitors, His Excellency Charles Crawford British Ambassador to Poland, Guy Hollebon Partner at Bevans Solicitors and The Rt. Hon Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice.

Judge Ales Zalar spoke of the role of Judges in ADR and the success of their court annexed mediation schemes in Slovenia

Michael Lind ADR Group Managing Director of ADR Group spoke on the subject of the importance of accreditation and quality assurance of mediation and mediators in the UK and Europe and how it featured highly on the agenda of the UK's Court Service. He stated that today almost all court annexed mediation schemes will only appoint mediators who are trained an accredited by leading ADR organisations. The quality of the ADR accreditations systems are recognised by the Court and the Department of Constitutional Affairs, providing them with the confidence to appoint any mediator though the schemes.

Michael commented " The Polish Ministry of Justice recognises the value of mediation and the important role of the Judiciary in raising the awareness of the process and its benefits. ADR Group will with a number of key courts to train judges in mediation skills  and help establish  effective court annexed mediation facilities."

Beata Kempa the newly appointed Secretary of State for the Polish Ministry of Justice spoke about the recent introduction of mediation into the Polish court system. this was particularly interesting as currently in the Polish legal system arbitration is seen to be the preferred method of dispute resolution,as arbitrators are seen to be more qualified to deal with high level corporate disputes, however the effectiveness of arbitrations a method of ADR provides a great platform to introduce mediation on a wider scale.

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About ADR Group

ADR Group is the leading professional alternative dispute resolution company in the UK. We are highly regarded both nationally and internationally as an authority in mediation and other cost-effective dispute resolution and prevention techniques spanning commercial, public-sector and family disputes.

The Group delivers a wide range of dispute resolution training programmes through its training faculty, with all programmes recognised and approved by the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council. ADR Group is also recognised as an accredited mediation provider by the Civil Mediation Counsel, the UK’s leading mediation standards organisation.

ADR Group is an organisation supporting initiatives approved by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Court Service and various Court based mediation schemes around the country. The Group formed part of the European Commission’s ADR working party on the drafting and implementation of the EU ADR Code and Directive. ADR Group operates an International ADR Development Programme and has delivered mediation awareness and Judicial training programmes funded by the British Embassy, the Department for International Development and the World Bank Group.

For further information contact

 Katie Vander Woerd

 E: Katie.vander-woerd@adrgroup.co.uk

  T: +44 (0) 117 946 7180.