Businesses have been urged to seek to a more conciliatory approach to settling disputes
Concerned that a “deluge” of post-pandemic litigation could overwhelm the justice system, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) has called for businesses to settle legal disputes out of court.
The institute recently released a set of guidelines encouraging parties to seek a “more conciliatory approach contractual disputes” and “promote the efficient resolution of disputes, in a manner likely also to benefit the wider public interest.”
This comes after an earlier study by the group revealed that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a “deluge of litigation and arbitration, placing a strain on the system of international dispute resolution.”
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The BIICL has instead urged parties to explore alternative dispute resolution measures, including mediation and the adoption of a mutual “cards on the table” approach where businesses share information relevant to “the continued performance under the contract.”
The group has also advised parties to work together to “adopt litigation and arbitration procedures and timetables aimed at managing the proceedings in an efficient and time-appropriate manner.”
Former UK Supreme Court president David Neuberger endorsed the guidelines, saying commercial entities “should consider their conduct around those disputes a key part of their environmental, social, and governance responsibilities.”
He said the COVID-19 crisis has placed the world in a very difficult position, both socially and economically, and this has “inevitably” resulted in many legal disputes.
“If we are to maintain respect for the rule of law, new approaches may be needed to resolve many of those disputes fairly,” Neuberger told The Law Society Gazette.
Helen Dodds, co-author the guidelines and past global head of dispute resolution at Standard Chartered Bank, also told the Gazette that, while the pandemic will almost surely result in a rise in legal disputes, what’s uncertain is how parties will respond to the court battles.
“The purpose of the guidelines is to assist parties in their thought processes around how to resolve those disputes and encourage them to resolve them in the least damaging way,” she said. “It could go either way, which is why we hope the guidelines will help people in deciding their course of action.”