ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO RESOLVE LEGAL DISPUTES IN THE UNITED STATES: HISTORY AND PRESENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51989/NUL.2021.4.24Keywords:
legal dispute, alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, case evaluation, joint cooperation practice, cooperative practice, early neutral evaluation, facilitation, mediation, minilitigation, negotiations, Pro Tem litigation, peace conferenceAbstract
The article gives a general description of some alternative ways of resolving legal disputes in the United States. Courts in the United States use alternative dispute resolution processes to help government officials and private individuals resolve complaints and disputes in many areas, including business. Alternative dispute resolution procedures vary by district, and this has been done since the beginning of such programs, so the article analyzes the US legislation that first regulated various forms of alternative dispute resolution, including the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA). ), which required all ninety-four federal district courts to adopt appropriate procedures, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998, which required the presence of ABCs in all districts. It should also be noted that the use of alternative dispute resolution expanded rapidly in the 1990s in response to a number of laws that still govern the use of ABC in federal courts in the United States. The article notes that the private procedures of alternative dispute resolution include those that are used solely on the basis of voluntary will of the parties, namely: negotiations, mediation, arbitration and others. These methods in their regulation are independent and independent of the judiciary, are characterized by a high degree of dispositiveness with minimal state intervention. The article analyzes such forms of alternative dispute resolution as arbitration, case evaluation, joint cooperation practice, cooperative practice, early neutral evaluation, facilitation, mediation, mini-trial, negotiations, neutral fact-finding, ombudsman, Pro Tem trials, peace conference, special master, final jury trial. Each of the forms of alternative dispute resolution with examples is described. The article also notes the difference between some forms of dispute resolution from others, including arbitration from mediation, mini-litigation and Pro Tem trials from the final jury trial.
References
The Court-Annexed Arbitration Act of 1978: Hearings on S. 2253 Before the Subcommittee on Improvements in Judicial Machinery of the Committee on the Judiciary, 95th Congress, Second Session 22 (1978).
Robert J. Niemic, Donna Stienstra, Randall E. Ravitz. Guide to Judicial Management of Cases in ADR. Federal Judicial Center (2011), 193pp. at p. 15.[Hereinafter «ADR Guide»).
Title IX of the Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act (Public Law 100-702, as amended by Section 1 of Public Law 105-53), codified at 28 USCA §§ 651-58.
Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-650 §103(a)-(b), 104 Stat. 5089, 5090-96 (hereinafter: CJRA).
Donna Stienstra, ADR in the Federal District Courts: An Initial Report, Federal Judicial Center. (Nov. 16, 2011). URL: https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2012/ADR2011.pdf
Judicial Conference of the United States, The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 Final Report: Alternative Proposals for Reduction of Cost and Delay, Assessment of Princi ples, Guidelines, and Techniques 38 (1997).
Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-315, 112 Stat. 2993 (codified at 28 U.S.C. §§ 651-658).
The American Bar Association. URL: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/resources/DisputeResolutionProcesses/
Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Carolina: A New Civil Procedure / edited by Jacqueline R. Clare. The United States of America : B. Williams & Associates, 2003. P. 11.
See Table S-17-Matters Disposed of by U.S. Magistrate Judges During the 12-Month Periods Ending September 30, 2007 Through 2016, U.S. Courts. URL: http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/data_tables/jb_s17_0930.2016.pdf
Brookes D., McDonough I. The Differences between Mediation and Restorative Justice/Practice. 2006. 24 p. URL: http://www.restorativejusticescotland.org.uk/MedvsRJ–P.pdf