What is alternative dispute resolution? What are the various techniques of alternative dispute resolution, and what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Alternative dispute resolution refers to the various nonjudicial methods of dealing with disputes that have developed. These include consensual arbitration, compulsory arbitration, conciliation, mediation, mini-trial, summary jury trial, and negotiation. Arbitration is binding, controlled by the parties, affords privacy, allows for a decision by an individual with special expertise in the area of dispute, and gives a speedy resolution of the dispute. Its disadvantages are that there are no public norms for decisions, no precedent, and no guarantee of uniformity of decisions. The advantages of mediation or conciliation are that it preserves relations, is controlled by the parties, affords privacy, and is flexible. Its disadvantages are that it is not binding, lacks finality, cannot be compelled, and has no binding precedents so that decisions are not uniform. Mini-trials, summary jury trials, and negotiation are nonbinding processes.The mini-trial combines elements of negotiation, mediation, and trials and is most often used when both disputants are corporations. A summary jury trial is a mock trial; if the parties do not reach a settlement they may have a full trial. Negotiation is a consensual bargaining process in which the parties try to reach an agreement without involving third parties.