ADR

Cards (18)

  • What are the advantages of the civil court system?
    • A legally qualified judge
    • A binding judgement is made
    • There is an appeal process
    • Legal funding is available
    • Judicial precedent ensures fairness and consistency
  • What are the disadvantages of the civil court system?
    • Expensive
    • Slow and complex
    • Open to the public
    • Formal and inflexible
    • Adversarial in nature
    • Intimidating
    • Can ruin good relations
    • No technical expertise
  • What must a claimant consider before taking court action?
    1. The likelihood of winning
    2. The Defendant's ability to pay damages
  • What are the four main types of ADR?
    1. Negotiation
    2. Mediation
    3. Conciliation
    4. Arbitration
  • What is negotiation?
    Negotiation involves the dispute between the parties themselves. It involves an offer and an acceptance. E.g - returning faulty goods to a shop
  • What are the advantages of negotiation?
    • Completely private
    • Quick resolution
    • Maintains good relationships
    • Informal
  • What are the disadvantages of negotiation?
    • Involving solicitors can make it costly
    • Settlements aren't always agreed on and the matter still goes to court
    • There is wasted time and money
    • People think they do not get as much as they would if they went to court
  • What is mediation?
    Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process which uses an independent third party to assist the parties in coming to their own agreed solution
  • What is the independent third party in mediation called?
    The 'mediator'
  • What are the advantages of mediation?
    • Faster and cheaper than court action
    • More confidential and flexible
    • Less formal
    • Not adversarial so avoids loss of good relations
    • Both parties have control of the outcome
    • The mediator is agreed upon by both parties and is completely independent
  • What are the disadvantages of mediation?
    • It can take 3 - 5 days compared to 1 day in court
    • There is no guarantee the matter will be resolved
    • The final decision is not automatically binding (not legally enforceable)
    • If a party feels "forced" into it a half-hearted decision may be reached
    • Legal funding is not always available
  • What is conciliation?
    Conciliation is a similar process to mediation where an impartial third party will suggest grounds for compromise to the two parties to aid them in coming to an agreement
  • What is the impartial third party in conciliation called?
    The 'conciliator'
  • What is arbitration?
    Arbitration is the most formal from of ADR, where a neutral third party binds the parties to the terms of a decision
  • What is the neutral third party in arbitration called?
    The 'arbitrator'
  • What are the advantages of arbitration?

    • Faster and cheaper than court action
    • Parties can choose who their arbitrator is - legal/technical expert
    • The procedure is less formal and more flexible
    • The decision is binding (legally enforceable) on the parties
    • The process is very clear to the parties
  • Which statute protects the process of arbitration?
    The Arbitration Act 1996
  • What are the disadvantages of arbitration?
    • It is the most similar to a court hearing - sometimes expensive and slow
    • A non-lawyer arbitrator would not know how to solve any unexpected legal issues
    • Rights of appeal of arbitration are limited
    • Legal funding is not available