Other types of ADR — overviewEarly Neutral Evaluation (ENE)

A neutral third party provides a non-binding opinion on the merits of the case. It can assist parties who wish to settle a matter but it does not itself result in settlement without further negotiation. For a variety of reasons parties do not generally incorporate ENE as an ADR clause into a contract.

Expert determination

An expert determination can consider technical and/or legal issues. The expert reaches a binding decision which is enforceable as a contract between the parties. Parties can agree to be bound for a limited time, for example pending the outcome of an arbitration hearing. Generally, an expert is appointed under the terms of the contract but there are rules which govern appointments where there are no such terms. Expert determination is widely used in certain industries, such as property, in which it is used for disputes relating to surveying or rent reviews.

Executive tribunal/mini trial

This is a semi formal hearing before a tribunal consisting of an executive from either party and a neutral. This is perhaps the most expensive form of ADR and is not widely used in the UK. It involves a more detailed examination of the parties' legal positions than other forms of ADR and is generally non-binding on the parties.

Mediation-arbitration

This is a two stage process using aspects of both mediation and arbitration. The benefit of this approach is that the mediator becomes the arbitrator and is already familiar with the facts and issues of the case. Disadvantages relate to confidentiality issues arising out of the mediation. The process is as follows:

• in a successful mediation, the mediator will then act as an arbitrator and without having a full arbitration will set out the parties agreement from the mediation in the form of an arbitration award. This assists with enforcement as arbitration awards are relatively easy to enforce unlike agreements reached in a mediation

• in an unsuccessful mediation, the dispute is then referred to arbitration

Judicial appraisal/'rent a judge'

A judge is appointed by the parties as neutral to make a non-binding evaluation of the dispute. A judge can be 'rented' to make a binding decision, enforceable as a contract between the parties. For the procedure to be followed in this type of ADR process, parties may use the procedures set out in court schemes or private agreements.

Other ADR options

There are a number of other ADR options which may be used on their own or in conjunction with other forms of ADR:

• Conciliation

• Neutral fact finding

• Dispute review board

• Ombudsman schemes

• Regulators

• Independent interventions