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.The idea for this annotated bibliography came as a result of the establishment of a collection of resources relating to mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) at the Faculty of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong: the Mediation Institute Collection. This annotated bibliography is designed in part to facilitate access for the practitioner and student of ADR to both the resources in that collection as well as to a wider range of ADR related resources generally available.