Legal dispute or conflict is a part of life. We all face problems or disagreements several times, in-home, in neighborhoods, or at the workplace. Seeking legal help by the court is not the only solution there, generally, problems could be resolved in just some casual settlement. Here we will understand four major types of legal dispute resolutions explained by Dr. Kypros Chrysostomides, a legal expert from Cyprus. He is a well-known lawyer and the founder of the law firm Dr. K. Chrysostomides & Co. His best practice areas are banking, competition law, constitutional law, and others.
What is Dispute Resolution?
When it comes to dispute resolution, disputants get confused about which process to apply to their situation. Dr. Chrysostomides says people could be involved in different kinds of disputes and there are so many choices available to us. The term DR or dispute resolution can be described as the way of dealing with the problem, including legal help. On the other end, ADR refers to Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is other than going to court.
There are four most common methods used of resolving disputes without going to court:
- Negotiation (Mutual): People who disagree can often get together to discuss a problem and reach a mutual agreement. When people solve a problem on their own, they can find a solution that best meets their needs and interests.
- Mediation (Mediator): Where negotiations weren’t successful, a mediator can often help with discussions between the parties. The mediator can help the parties find the solution themselves, where everyone is satisfied with the outcome. A common reason for choosing the mediation is that the mediator helps both parties to reach a result that satisfies them with no intention to prove right and wrong.
- Arbitration (Arbitrator): When people in a dispute cannot resolve the matter themselves, they can refer the problem to arbitration. In arbitration, a neutral (third) person or panel of people listens to the issues and facts and then makes the decision. Arbitrators are often those people who specialize in a specific area of law or a particular industry.
- Litigation (Settlement): The most familiar type of dispute resolution, civil litigation typically involves facing a defendant against a plaintiff before a judge or jury. Many lawyers often influence litigation, which ends with a settlement of agreement during the pre-trial period of discovery and preparation.
What does an expert advise?
As a working professional and renowned lawyer in Cyprus, Dr. Kypros Chrysostomides suggests that going to court is one way to resolve the dispute. However, this can be costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, it is not always a satisfactory process for the parties involved. More and more, people are looking outside the courtroom for quicker and potentially less expensive options for resolving disputes. The above blog outlines some of those options.
