Embracing Alternative Dispute Resolution - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages However, litigation has not been without its problems and Lord Woolf’s review of the civil litigation system highlighted growing concerns regarding extensive delay and expense of litigation5. Furthermore, the report found that litigation was too expensive often surpassing the value of the claim and it was impossible to adequately predict the cost of litigation and the length of time it would take, perpetuated by consistent delays in bringing cases to a conclusion6.
Lord Woolf’s report resulted in the implementation of the Civil Procedure Rules7 with a shifting emphasis towards judicial case management in an attempt to alleviate the delay and expense of litigation and to approach cases in an interventionist/managerial capacity instead of the traditional adversarial approach8. Lord Woolf’s report also proposed that litigation should be seen as a last resort, embracing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a substitute to be encouraged by the courts9. It was felt that such an approach would reduce delay and expense and the courts, leading to a more effective system of court administration.
There are many forms of ADR and Roney defines it as a “form of structured negotiation into which there is introduced a third party10”. Furthermore, Roney refers to Cowan Erwin’s definition of ADR as “any means of providing a resolution of a dispute between two or more parties which does not involve traditional adversarial procedures”11. As such, ADR has been viewed as a response to litigation, which is costly and sacrifices privacy in bringing the dispute into the public domain. Arguably the most important justification for recourse to ADR is the preference of the solution being based on fairness and equity rather than the rule of law12.
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