ADR Jargon Buster
Jargon Buster
| The jargon | What it means |
| Adjudication | This involves an independent third party – the adjudicator – considering the claims of both sides and making a decision. This is usually done on paper. Both sides send in written details of their argument, with copies of any letters, reports or other evidence. The adjudicator then makes a decision based on this information, and on what is generally considered to be good practice in the business concerned. The adjudicator is usually an expert in the subject matter in dispute. |
| ADR | This stands for ‘alternative dispute resolution’ or ‘appropriate dispute resolution’. It is used to describe meditation, ombudsmen, adjudication and other ways to resolve disputes that are an alternative to going to court or tribunal. |
| Arbitration | In arbitration an independent third party considers both sides in a dispute and makes a decision that resolves the dispute. The arbitrator is impartial; this means he or she does not take sides. In most cases the arbitrator’s decision is legally binding on both sides, so it is not possible to go to court if you are unhappy with the decision. |
| Conciliation | In conciliation, as in mediation, an independent person (the conciliator) tries to help the people in dispute to resolve their problem. The conciliator should be impartial and should not take sides. The parties in dispute are responsible for deciding how to resolve the dispute, not the conciliator. In some conciliation, the conciliator gives an opinion about what is a reasonable resolution. |
| Early neutral evaluation | In early neutral evaluation (ENE) an independent third party considers the claims made by each side and gives an opinion or evaluation. The opinion can be about the likely outcome of the case, or about a particular point of law. The third party can either be an expert in the subject of the dispute, or an expert in law (such as a barrister or a judge). The same opinion is given to both sides in the dispute. The opinion is not legally binding. |
