ADR

Although alternative dispute resolution has been part of the Scottish legal landscape for centuries it is seeing a resurgence of interest. 'Dispute Resolution Management' has become the buzzword for a very simple concept. We prefer 'DR' or 'Dispute Resolution'.

Generally, DR is a powerful and flexible tool for the resolution of disputes of all kinds which can arise in a commercial or private context.

Arbitration is a technique for the private resolution of any dispute. The decision of the arbitrator is legally binding upon the parties to the dispute. The world-leading Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 made its way through the Scottish Parliament, and has been widely welcomed across the globe as incorporating the best of international and domestic practice. It provides an urgently needed statutory framework for international and domestic arbitrations. 

Mediation is  seeing an enthusiastic reception in Scotland. Mediation is a flexible, discrete and confidential dispute resolution process which allows parties, through the use of a mediator, to resolve even the most intractable of disputes or differences themselves, finding their own solutions.

Adjudication is a statutory procedure for use in construction contracts, but the principles of which can be widely applied. 

John Campbell Q.C. has been an enthusiastic proponent of DR for over twenty years. He is the past President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2009) and is a trained Mediator. He is regularly instructed in a variety of complex disputes which have been found suitable for DR outside the Court. He teaches the subject, and has devised codes for professional and other bodies, in agriculture, family law and more widely.

John Carruthers has appeared in a number of adjudications, arbitrations and mediations covering such diverse areas as boundary disputes, building contracts, professional partnership disagreements and contactual disputes.