In the business world, individuals have incorporated alternative dispute resolution as the primary avenue for addressing disagreements between contracting parties. For example, in most tenancy agreements there is a clause that refers parties to arbitration as the primary recourse in dispute resolution. Parties in such agreements will agree on a preferable certified arbitrator who will act as an independent and neutral moderator in pursuing an agreeable settlement between the parties. The decision of an arbitrator is held to be binding on both parties as if it was a court’s judgment.
Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms like mediation and arbitration are becoming increasingly popular, unlike the
court process which is highly unattractive for various reasons. These reasons include the fact that civil litigation is encumbered with procedures that could derail the prompt resolution a case.. Settlement of disputes in the business world is hinged on time efficiency and therefore the court process could be seemed as ineffective in dealing with such matters. Arbitration and mediation are accorded numerous benefits, and the prime ones are listed as follows;
Confidentiality
Court cases, opinions, hearings, documents, and judgments are public records, and anyone can, therefore, access them at any given time. However, mediation and arbitration proceedings are kept confidential, and only the parties are privy to any information pertaining the case therein. In this regard, parties that value the privacy of records and information can seek ADR as adequate mechanisms of overseeing expedited and private litigation.
Preservation Of Relationships
The adversarial nature of litigation will ultimately lead to a breakdown of relationships between parties due to their volatility and competitiveness. In court, parties are focused on winning rather than reaching an amicable solution, and therefore it is consequential that ties will break and relationships will cut loose.
Lower Costs
Retaining the services of an advocate during the litigation period of a particular matter in court is bound to be very expensive. The advocate’s costs incurred are inescapable as long as the case is pending in court and therefore the longer the period of litigation the more a client is likely to pay. Mediation and arbitration take the least time possible to reach a settlement and conclude proceedings hence the resultant minimal costs. Also, the filing fees for the requisite court documents is high compared to ADR mechanisms which do not have such expenses.
Efficiency
The decisions reached through ADR mechanisms are premised on interparty negotiations and agreements. Therefore the parties in such negotiations are more likely to be content and happy with the decision of their arbitrator.