David Neuberger, the former president of the supreme court, has agreed to mediate between the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster and the organisations accused of responsibility as part of a civil litigation process set to conclude next spring.
The 74-year-old judge has taken the key role as more than 1,100 members of the Grenfell community, estates of the 72 people who died as a result of the 14 June tower fire, and emergency responders all press claims against defendants ranging from the landlord, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council, to Arconic, the cladding manufacturer. The actions could result in multimillion-pound payouts, admissions of responsibility and other remedies.
A separate expert mediator who worked on South Africa’s post-apartheid truth and reconciliation commission is also working with some of the victims to achieve “restorative justice” as part of the dispute resolution process that aims to avoid a civil trial.
Paul van Zyl is consulting some of those bringing claims in the civil courts about what measures of restorative justice they want to see included in the mediation process. Restorative justice processes typically aim to give victims and survivors a broader sense of justice than simply financial compensation, but do not aim to replace it, or potential criminal prosecutions.
Van Zyl was executive secretary of the body set up by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu after the end of apartheid rule in 1996. According to the Restorative Justice Council, a UK charity, restorative justice “gives victims the chance to meet or communicate with their offenders to explain the real impact of the crime – it empowers victims by giving them a voice”.
“For offenders, the experience can be incredibly challenging as it confronts them with the personal impact of their crime,” the charity says. “For victims, meeting the person who has harmed them can be a huge step in moving forward and recovering from the crime.”
The high court process is running in parallel with the public inquiry, which completed its last evidentiary hearings last month, and a police investigation into possible crimes ranging from corporate and gross negligence manslaughter to health and safety offences. The chair of the public inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is expected to publish his final report in 2023 at which point the police will weigh whether to recommend the Crown Prosecution Service brings criminal charges.
Last week Barbara Fontaine, a senior high court master who is managing the highly complex civil claims process, which involves 22 defendants, gave lawyers for the victims and survivors of the 14 June 2017 fire more time to negotiate terms.
Lord Neuberger will be joined as mediator by Bill Marsh, one of the UK’s most experienced mediators whose past cases include huge medical negligence claims, commercial fraud and construction disputes.
Neuberger will preside over the final mediation process scheduled to take place in January 2023, with joint settlement meetings to follow in the succeeding weeks. It is envisaged that all strands of the civil claims should be completed by April 2023.
