Legal Groundup

Legal Studies from the ground up

Application Excercise 5d

Greasy chip causes injury

The different dispute resolution methods Celeste could use in order to resolve her civil dispute with her neighbour, Claire are mediation, conciliation and arbitration so that parties can resolve the civil dispute themselves, without having to go to court. When attempting to resolve a civil dispute, ADR methods encourage parties to reach an out-of-court settlement that the parties agree to without having to go to court.

Alternative dispute resolution uses methods other than judicial determination used by traditional courts to resolve a dispute between two or more parties. ADR involves an independent third party assisting the parties involved in the civil dispute to decide a mutual outcome between themselves in a less formal, less costly and less time consuming manner than going to court.

Mediation is a civil dispute resolution method that involves an impartial and unbiased third party, referred to as the ‘mediator’, who assists the disputing parties to reach a resolution between themselves by facilitating discussion between the disputing parties. The mediator’s role is to keep communication going between the parties, but they do not offer advice,make suggestions or decide an outcome. The decision in mediation is made by the parties themselves and is not legally binding, which means parties do not have to follow the decision.

Conciliationis a civil dispute resolution method that involves an impartial third party, referred to as the ‘conciliator’, who assists both sides to reach an agreement by offering the parties advice or making suggestions in order for them to resolve their civil dispute. The decision made in conciliation is not legally binding, which means parties do not have to follow the decision.

Arbitration is a civil dispute resolution method that involves an impartial third party, referred to as the ‘arbitrator’, who listens to both sides of the dispute and makes a decision that is legally binding on the parties. This means the decision must be followed. Unlike mediation and conciliation where the parties decide their own mutually agreed outcome, in arbitration the arbitrator decides the outcome for the disputing parties.