Other ADR Processes (Conciliation, Adjudication, Expert Determination, ODR)
The Other ADR Processes domain tests whether you can distinguish mediation and arbitration from the processes in between - conciliation, adjudication, expert determination, dispute boards and ODR.
Conciliation
Conciliation overlaps with mediation but is often more interventionist, with the neutral proposing solutions. It is the term used in the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules 1980 and in ICSID investor-state conciliation. A concluded conciliated settlement raises the same enforcement questions as a mediated one.
Adjudication
In the UK construction industry the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended in 2009) gives a party a right to refer a dispute to adjudication at any time, requiring decisions within 28 days (extendable by agreement). The decision binds temporarily - 'pay now, argue later' - until revised by arbitration, litigation or agreement. Compliance is enforceable by summary judgment. Comparable regimes exist in Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.
Expert determination
The parties' contract gives a person with technical expertise binding power to decide a defined matter. There is generally no hearing, no reasons requirement unless agreed, and no right of appeal; challenges are limited to fraud, collusion, breach of instructions or, where expressly agreed, manifest error. It is not arbitration, so the Arbitration Act and the New York Convention do not apply.
ODR
Online dispute resolution covers online negotiation systems, e-mediation, online arbitration and triage platforms. UNCITRAL's Technical Notes on ODR (2016) address fair process, transparency and data security. EU Regulation 524/2013 established an ODR platform for consumer disputes.
Worked example
A subcontractor claims delay costs. The main contract provides for adjudication then arbitration. The adjudicator decides within 28 days; the contractor pays but makes a timely reservation of position. Arbitration later revises the decision and the difference is repaid. Failure to reserve, or to commence arbitration within a contractual time bar, could make the adjudicator's decision final in practice.
Traps
Treating adjudication as final; assuming expert determinations are enforceable as arbitral awards under the New York Convention; assuming ODR means automated decision-making; missing short contractual time bars.