Mediation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Abstract

Mediation, arbitration, and ADR (‘alternative dispute resolution’) are processes used to resolve disputes, either within or outside the formal legal system, without adjudication or decision by a judge. More recently, the term ‘appropriate dispute resolution’ has been used to express the idea that different kinds of disputes, variable by subject matter type, parties involved or location of the dispute or transaction, may require different kinds of processes—no one legal or informal dispute process can serve for all human disputing. Mediation is a process in which a third party (usually neutral and unbiased) facilitates a negotiated consensual agreement among parties, without rendering a formal decision. In arbitration, a single third party or a panel of arbitrators, most often chosen by the parties themselves, renders a decision, in terms less formal than a court. ADR includes a variety of hybrid processes built on the basic processes of negotiation, mediation and arbitration, now including med-arb, minitrials, summary jury, or judge trials and early neutral evaluation, which vary in providing opportunities for settlement of cases, advisory opinions, or decisions in both public (court-annexed) and private settings. This article defines the basic ADR terms and reviews the theory, history, controversies, and future of alternative dispute resolution processes.