Quo Vadis Civil Justice? Filling the gaps in Civil Justice in the U.S. and Europe
Spring 2021-- A Three-Part Zoom Event
Second panel discussion: "American and European civil justice on the cutting edge of legal innovation - justice out of courts"
Friday April 30 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. time
The 'Filling the Gaps' series of Zoom events gather lawmakers, policymakers, scholars, business representatives and legal practitioners who, in the span of three panel discussions, will offer insights into the seismic shift the contemporary civil justice systems in Europe and the U.S. are experiencing. They will reflect on the search for just, efficient and effective civil justice mechanisms, trace the trajectories of reforms, assess the reasons for differences in trajectories, and attempt to answer the perennial question: can we learn from one another?
The second panel discussion explores civil justice out of courts. What is civil justice and how it can be achieved has undergone major changes on both sides of the Atlantic. While the trajectories of change in civil litigation are quite different, both the U.S. and Europe are boosting out-of-court civil justice. Traditional ADR mechanisms and bodies are being reformed, and an impressive array of innovative mechanisms, bodies and processes have been established. These include arbitration, mediation, as well as (non-public) ombudsmen schemes, compensation funds, business-operated e-justice mechanisms, and last bust not least: public bodies (in some jurisdictions- for instance Denmark and the UK - they include ombudsmen) with powers to award or to request an award of compensatory damages ('regulatory redress mechanisms'). Experience from Europe indicates that if one were to indeed take a path not involving litigation, new, more state-of-the-art, responsive mechanisms such as Ombudsmen, or, in some cases, regulators, may well be a better fit. Experience from the U.S. shows how popular and efficient some private e-justice schemes can be. The speakers at this Panel event - scholars, legal practitioners and ADR providers explore and assess these innovations.
Speakers
Christopher Hodges (the University of Oxford)
Alexandre Bjard (Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam)
Thomas Main (University of Nevada)
Pietro Ortolani (Radboud University)
Rebecca Purdom (Emory Law)
Matthew Vickers (Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman - Ombudsman Services, UK)
Representative of GA Attorney General's Office (TBC)
Program
8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: Log-in and (virtual) coffee
9:00 a.m.: Start panel session
Moderator: Christopher Hodges (University of Oxford)
9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: Alexandre Biard (Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam)
9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.: Thomas Main (University of Nevada)
9:50 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.: Pietro Ortolani (Radboud University)
10:10 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.: 'Top off your coffee' break
10:20 a.m.- 10:40 a.m.: Rebecca Purdom (Emory Law)
10:40 - 11:00 a.m.: Matthew Vickers (Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman, Ombudsman Services, UK)
11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.: Representative of GA Attorney General's Office (TBC)
11:20 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.: Q&A
11:50 a.m.: Conclusion of panel session by Christopher Hodges
12:00 p.m.: Panel session ends