Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") refers to any method of resolving disputes without litigation.  ADR restructures all processes and techniques for dispute resolution that occur outside of any governmental authority.  The most famous ADR methods are: mediation, arbitration, conciliation, negotiation, and transaction.

  All ADR procedures have common features – that is, they enable parties to find acceptable solutions to their disputes outside of traditional legal/court proceedings, but are governed by different rules.  For example, unlike mediation and conciliation, where the objective of the third party is to promote an amicable agreement between the parties, there is no third party that intervenes to help the parties reach an agreement.  In arbitration, the third party (an arbitrator or multiple arbitrators) will play an important role as it will make an arbitral award that will be binding on the parties.  In comparison, in conciliation and mediation, the third party does not impose a binding decision.