Technology and Construction Court

According to The Lawyer, the judicial mediation scheme launched by the Technology and Construction Court two years ago looks doomed to failure. The report says that when the scheme was launched, it was greeted with derision from solicitors, arbitrators and mediators, who described it as a terrible idea and not in the public interest. The chair of the Technology and Construction Solicitors Association, Caroline Cummins, is quoted as saying: ‘People like judges to be judges, as that’s what they are good at.’ Nicholas Gould of Fenwick Elliott is quoted as saying: ‘At the moment it’s pretty clear that private or commercial mediation is preferred to using a judge. Many parties feel that they want judges to give orders and push things forward, which is a very different skill set from mediation.’