'The courts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried.' Sandra Day O'Connor
Commercial dispute resolution is the generic term used to describe the process of resolving disputes between one or more parties within a commercial context. There is a variety of different procedures and processes that may be adopted which enable those in dispute to ask a third party (e.g. judge or arbitrator) to make a decision. Increasingly parties are using alternative means ("Alternative Dispute Resolution") to resolve their dispute. Some of these methods involve a third party who will facilitate the negotiations e.g. mediation.