I’m Confused By Terms ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ And ‘Conflict Resolution’?
Unfortunately these terms are used interchangeably and sometimes used inappropriately. To help clarify their use, I suggest the following distinction. Alternative Dispute Resolution is used to differentiate between court room litigation from non-court dispute resolution. Hence, the word ‘alternative’ is placed before the words ‘dispute resolution’. In modern times, it has become standard to settle disputes in court and the saying ‘see you in court’ has become a popular cliché. When we go to court the outcome is subject to variables out of our control. The empowerment trend ‘taking back the power from the court into the hands of the people’ has given re-birth to the term ‘alternative dispute resolution’. I say ‘re-birth’ because in historical time before the advent of ‘court room litigation’, disputes were usually resolved by the parties themselves without the intervention of a decision-maker. The term ‘Conflict Resolution’ is becoming more associated with globalization, urbanization, a
