Legal Dictionary

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Legal Definition of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Noun

Also known as ADR. Methods by which legal conflicts and disputes are resolved privately and other than through litigation in the public courts, usually through one of two forms: mediation or arbitration. It typically involves a process much less formal than the traditional court process and includes the appointment of a third-party to preside over a hearing between the parties. The advantages of ADR are speed and money: it costs less and is quicker than court litigation. ADR forums are also private. The disadvantage is that it often involves compromise.

Definition of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Noun

alternative dispute resolution (uncountable)

(law): Resolution of a dispute through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or similar means, as opposed to litigation,

Further reading

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (also known as External Dispute Resolution in some countries, such as Australia[1]) includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judicial process. Despite historic resistance to ADR by both parties and their advocates, ADR has gained widespread acceptance among both the general public and the legal profession in recent years. In fact, some courts now require some parties to resort to ADR of some type, usually mediation, before permitting the parties' cases to be tried. The rising popularity of ADR can be explained by the increasing caseload of traditional courts, the perception that ADR imposes fewer costs than litigation, a preference for confidentiality, and the desire of some parties to have greater control over the selection of the individual or individuals who will decide their dispute.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) tends to transform into Appropriate dispute resolution. ("Alternative ways of solving conflicts (ADR)", Zeno Sustac & Claudiu Ignat, 2008).

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