Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

PAGE PREVIEW

Recourse to arbitration seemed like the perfect solution when dissatisfaction with court-based resolution grew, and became unacceptable.

In fact, when properly run, arbitration renders a good result. But when mismanaged, it is no better than court proceedings—quite expensive and subjectto serious delays.

Furthermore the process was removed from the parties and presented to the lawyers. The parties’ problems transformed into legal issues, which is proper for some issues, but bad for others.

One should have ensured that these defects are removed. Instead of doing this, the parties started to look for further alternatives, such as mediation, and hybrid med-arb processes.

These are good alternatives because they tend to ensure that justice is achieved quickly and cheaply. For example, mediation is an extremely useful tool to settle problems. Except for the United States and the United Kingdom, however, it has had difficulty in becoming known and appreciated elsewhere.