Alternative Dispute Resolutin Methods

Alternative Dispute Resolution, also known as ADR, can be used as an alternative to litigation. ADR includes many different techniques that are quickly gaining acceptance and being used in families, schools, churches and the workplace. Alternative Dispute Resolutions are becoming more popular in the judicial profession, do to the ever increasing amount of cases being brought to the traditional courts. Both attorneys and judges have began to see ADR as an acceptable way of decreasing case loads in the trial courts, while still settling disputes in a fair way.

Typically, the most common form of Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution is mediation. Peer mediation is being used more often to handle nonviolent disputes between students in middle school and high school. At this level ADR has similar benefits to its use in the judicial system: It allows students to handle situations themselves without the need of adults, teaches compromise between peers, and keeps the principals office from being over crowded.

Although mediation is the most well known Alternative Method of Dispute Resolution, it is not the only one. Other forms of ADR include Dispute Panels, Early Neutral Evaluation, Minitrials, Peer Review, Settlement Conferences and Consensus Building. ADR has four main subtypes that will be concentrated on: Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Conciliation.

Negotiation is a discussion between two or more disputants with a problem and are trying to resolve it. Negotiation does not require a third party . People involved in negotiations prefer to search for an agreement rather than fight, give in or break off contact. As negotiations evolve, each side proposes changes to the other party’s proposals. The process of give and take is necessary to reach a settlement. When both sides mutually adjust during negotiation it can result in a win-win situation for everyone.

Mediation is the intervention in a dispute or negotiation involving a third party. The mediator is an impartial and neutral person agreed upon by both disputants. The mediator is not an authority figure in mediation and has absolutely no decision making powers, the mediators job is to make sure the rules of mediation are being followed. In mediation disputants are encouraged to reach a compromise to resolve a solution, but it is not required. In the judicial process if a comprisable decision cannot be made then the dispute proceeds to court.

Arbitration is an alternative to the courts, that involves a neutral third party, that the disputants agree to go to for resolution. Arbitration involves either an individual arbitrator or an arbitration panel for