Annotated Bibliography: Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR)

Recent reforms to Hong Kong’s civil procedure rules included the coming into force of Practice Direction 31 on 1 January 2010. This Practice Direction emphasizes the importance of mediation under the new civil justice system. Under the new system parties are strongly encouraged to explore the possibility of mediation before looking to litigate. Furthermore, lawyers are directed to advise their clients on the significance of mediation as a means of dispute settlement. Although mediation is not mandatory under Practice Direction 31, an unreasonable refusal to participate in mediation could result in an adverse costs order being made against the unwilling party. The advent of Practice Direction 31 therefore will precipitate a considerable shift in the legal landscape of Hong Kong and it is, now more than ever, vital for both lawyers and the community to be aware of the meaning, process and techniques associated with mediation as a form of alternative dispute resolution.
 
One of the purposes of building the Mediation Institute Collection would be to make available to academics, students and legal professionals a broad range of materials relevant to this increasingly important field of study and practice in Hong Kong. Once we had begun to assemble the Collection, it became clear to us that a guide to materials pertaining to mediation and other forms of ADR would be a most useful reference tool and so we embarked upon the further task of putting this annotated bibliography together. We have tried to make the annotated bibliography as comprehensive as possible and so it includes materials held in the Mediation Institute Collection as well as a number of other publications and resources not currently available in the Collection.