Developments in Mediation since 2025
Four developments have shaped mediation in England and Wales in 2025 and 2026, building on the rules that took effect in October 2024: the courts’ first use of the new power to order mediation, the extension of automatic mediation in small claims, the review of pre-action protocols, and the Government’s steps towards the Singapore Convention.
The new rules in operation
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2024 came into force on 1 October 2024. They gave the court an express power to “order the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution” (CPR 3.1(2)(o)). They also made failure to comply with such an order, or an unreasonable failure to engage, a matter of conduct on costs (CPR 44.2(5)(e)). The rules responded to Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416.
The first decisions under the new regime set the tone. In DKH Retail Ltd v City Football Group Ltd [2024] EWHC 3231 (Ch) the High Court ordered mediation over the defendant’s objection; the parties notified the court on 13 January 2025 that they had settled ([43]–[44]). In April 2026, by contrast, the Technology and Construction Court applied the amended costs rule itself. It held that a reasoned decision to see the other side’s expert evidence before mediating was not unreasonable (MJS Projects (March) Ltd v RPS Consulting Services Ltd [2026] EWHC 884 (TCC), [47], [50]). The power is real, and it is exercised with discrimination.
Automatic mediation in small claims
Since 22 May 2024, defended small claims for a specified sum, other than road traffic accident and personal injury claims, have been referred automatically to the HMCTS Small Claims Mediation Service under a pilot scheme (PD 51ZE, the Small Claims Track Automatic Referral to Mediation Pilot). In July 2025 the approach was extended. From 28 July 2025 a one-year pilot requires non-personal injury, specified-sum road traffic small claims issued online to be “automatically stayed after defence and referred to mediation conducted by a HMCTS mediator” (Civil Procedure Rules website, note to the 187th Practice Direction Update).
In April 2026 the pilots were extended again. The 193rd Practice Direction Update, in force from 6 April 2026, extended both PD 51ZE and PD 51R (the Online Civil Money Claims pilot) to 6 April 2027. Of the automatic referral pilot, the Government has stated that “there will be an evaluation and a review” (Government response to the Justice Committee, 17 October 2025).
The review of pre-action protocols
The Civil Justice Council completed its review of pre-action protocols with its Phase Two Report, published in November 2024. The report leaves implementation to the rule-making committees, stating that it is “the responsibility of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee … to consider how to take forward the recommendations”. The direction of travel is clear, however: earlier and more structured engagement before proceedings begin.
The Singapore Convention
The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, known as the Singapore Convention, allows a settlement reached in cross-border commercial mediation to be enforced directly in the courts of states that are party to it. The United Kingdom signed it on 3 May 2023 but has not yet ratified it (UNCITRAL, status of the Convention).
In 2025 the Government moved towards ratification. It stated that it remains “committed to ratifying the Convention once all the necessary domestic implementing measures are in place” (Written Answer HL10133, 16 September 2025). The same answer records that the Government “is currently consulting stakeholders” on those measures. For parties to international commercial disputes, ratification would add a route to enforcement that does not depend on suing on the settlement as a contract.
What has not changed
The strongest objection to any account of reform is that it overstates movement. The objection deserves an answer. Mediation remains consensual in its outcome: no party can be compelled to settle. An order to mediate remains subject to the limits stated in Churchill: it must not impair the very essence of the right to a judicial hearing, and it must be proportionate ([65]). The Government’s stated view, published before this period, is that “statutory regulation of the entire civil mediation sector would be disproportionate” (Ministry of Justice, Government response to consultation, 20 December 2023).
Conclusion
Taken together, these developments move mediation from the margin of civil procedure towards its centre. The courts now order it. Small claims are routed through it by default. Pre-action conduct has been reviewed with earlier engagement in view. International enforcement awaits ratification. For parties and their advisers, the practical consequence is the same across all four: the question is no longer whether to consider mediation, but when and how.
This article is general commentary on the law of England and Wales at the date of publication. It is not advice on any particular matter.
