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Absolute rubbish. Far too many cases should ideally not be in court and mediation is much cheaper and quicker. Pleadings, costs budgeting, CMCs, disclosure, witness statements, PTR and the trial itself will always take up time and cost a horrible amount of money. Mediation very often cuts through all of it for a fraction of the price and it's over in a day or two.

The courts are also slow and expensive due to the CPR and the body of case law that has built up around it. The tribunals system runs on a minimal number of rules and the CPR could be scaled down significantly with no loss to the justice system.

As to the development of the law, why must litigants pay obscene amounts for the law to develop? Are ill people forced to take untested medication in order for medicine to develop?

Make the courts cheaper and quicker by all means but mediation should still be actively pushed to warring parties and where appropriate costs penalties should be imposed on those refusing to engage in it.