Dispute resolution or dispute settlement is the process of resolving disputes between parties. The term dispute resolution is sometimes used interchangeably with conflict resolution.
Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutrally assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are encouraged to actively participate in the process. Mediation is a "party-centered" process in that it is focused primarily upon the needs, rights, and interests of the parties. The mediator uses a wide variety of techniques to guide the process in a constructive direction and to help the parties find their optimal solution. A mediator is facilitative in that they manage the interaction between parties and facilitates open communication. Mediation is also evaluative in that the mediator analyzes issues and relevant norms ("reality-testing"), while refraining from providing prescriptive advice to the parties.
Pro bono publico, usually shortened to pro bono, is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment.
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as "their tribunal." Many governmental bodies are titled "tribunals" to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For example, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes. In many cases, the word tribunal implies a judicial body with a lesser degree of formality than a court, in which the normal rules of evidence and procedure may not apply, and whose presiding officers are frequently neither judges nor magistrates. Private judicial bodies are also often styled "tribunals." The word tribunal, however, is not conclusive of a body's function—for example, in Great Britain, the Employment Appeal Tribunal is a superior court of record.
Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a form of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. It primarily involves negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or a combination of all three. In this respect it is often seen as being the online equivalent of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). However, ODR can also augment these traditional means of resolving disputes by applying innovative techniques and online technologies to the process.
The University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, branded as Western Law since 2011, is the law school of Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1959, its first Dean was former Supreme Court of Canada justice, the Honourable Ivan Cleveland Rand, who saw the school as developing "in the minds of its students the habit of thinking in terms of the dynamic tradition, in the broadest sense, of our law." The current Dean of Law is Erika Chamberlain, former clerk to Supreme Court Justice John C. Major, who began her tenure in May 2017.
Legal Aid BC is the legal aid provider in British Columbia, Canada.
The Civil Mediation Council (CMC) is the recognised authority in England and Wales for all matters related to civil, commercial, workplace and other non-family mediation. It is the first point of contact for the Government, the judiciary, the legal profession and industry on mediation issues.
OnRamp Systems is a legal technology company that specializes in applying people, process, and technology in support of corporate legal departments. OnRamp System’s collaborative platform, Legal OnRamp, has been cited by Harvard Law School as one of the first to combine law and technology.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for disagreeing parties who cannot come to an agreement short of litigation. However, ADR is also increasingly being adopted as a tool to help settle disputes within the court system.
Richard Eric Susskind OBE FRSE is a British author, speaker, and independent adviser to international professional firms and national governments. He is the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, holds professorships at the University of Oxford, Gresham College and Strathclyde University, is a past chair of the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information, and is the president of the Society for Computers and Law.
The Community Mediation Centres (CMCs) in Singapore come under the purview of the Ministry of Law. The work of the CMCs is overseen by the Community Mediation Unit (CMU), a department set up within the Ministry of Law to run CMCs’ day to day operations as well as promote the use of mediation in Singapore.
The UAB Institute of Law and Technology (IDT), housed at the Faculty of Law of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, is a research center promoting research on law and technology from an interdisciplinary perspective. The IDT was created in 2005 and emerged from the former UAB Sociolegal Studies Group (GRES). The former GRES began its research activities in 1992 with the aim to foster social sciences research and methodologies in the law domain. In this line, the GRES set up a Laboratory of Analysis of Qualitative and Audio-Visual Data, which is nowadays integrated within the IDT (IDT-Lab) and continues to develop methods for data analysis, incorporating new multimedia technologies. The research group trained a number of graduate students on the areas of legal culture and judicial studies, and three of them obtained Fulbright Scholarships to complete their PhDs in North American institutions. The GRES was connected from its foundation to other international research organizations (i.e. by becoming Groupement de Recherche 1036 of the French CNRS) and institutions (International Institute for the Sociology of Law) and participated actively in international conferences (Law and Society Association, Research Committee on Sociology of Law, International Sociological Association, etc.).
Arthur Montraville Monty Ahalt is an American jurist, and a lifelong resident of Maryland. He served as Circuit Court Judge for Prince George's County, and is an internationally recognized advocate of technological solutions for the judicial and legal community. Judge Ahalt has pioneered advances in case management software and online dispute resolution, and is the founder and chief executive officer of VirtualCourthouse.com.
eQuibbly is an online dispute resolution (ODR), offering individuals and companies in the U.S. Canada, and other countries that are signatories to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. This is a private and legally binding alternative to pursuing litigation in court. eQuibbly was an Online Dispute Resolution service in North America focused exclusively on online arbitration. It ceased operations in 2016.
Legal technology, also known as Legal Tech, refers to the use of technology and software to provide legal services and support the legal industry. Legal Tech companies are often startups founded with the purpose of disrupting the traditionally conservative legal market.
Cyberjustice is the incorporation of technology into the justice system, either through offering court services electronically or through the use of electronics within courtrooms or for other dispute resolution purposes. One of the most crucial goals of cyberjustice is increasing access to justice through both reducing the costs associated with administering justice as well as reducing the burden on the judges and the court system as a whole.
Thomas Martin Partington, is a British retired legal scholar and barrister. He is Emeritus professor of Law at the University of Bristol.
Access to justice is a basic principle in rule of law which describes how citizens should have equal access to the legal systems in their context. Without access to justice, people are not able to fully exercise their rights, challenge discrimination, or hold decision-makers accountable for their actions.
The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) is Canada's first online tribunal, located in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is one of the first examples in the world of online dispute resolution (ODR) being incorporated into the public justice system. The CRT was established under the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act (2012), which was amended in 2015. The CRT initially had jurisdiction over small claims and strata property (condominium) disputes. On April 23, 2018, the government of British Columbia introduced legislation to expand the CRT's jurisdiction to include certain motor vehicle accident disputes, disputes under the Societies Act, and the Co-operative Association Act.
