EDR Systems for the Fertilizer Trade

(Electronic Dispute Resolution processes for the global fertilizer market) Virtual adjudication, arbitration, conciliation and mediation : High speed "Click and Settle" solutions to international disputes arising out of fertilizer sales, construction and transport contracts.

CONTENTS

SUBJECT

WHAT IS EDR ?

WHY USE EDR ?

PRIVACY

SPEED

COMMUNICATIONS

COSTS

CONVENIENCE

PRELIMINARIES

PAPER ONLY TRIALS

VIRTUAL TRIALS

VIDEO-CONFERENCING TRIALS

ON LINE TEXT TRIALS

VIRTUAL MEDIATION

VIDEO-CONFERENCING MEDIATION

OFF LINE MEDIATION

WHO SHOULD USE EDR ?

COMMERCE AND EDR

EDR / ADR KITE MARKS AND TRUST

NADR KITE MARK

CONCLUSION ADVANTAGES OF EDR

SPEAKER'S PROFILE

Corbett Haselgrove-Spurin LL.B. LL.M. F.CIArb., F.NADR US, F.NADR Int. M.DRBF.

Corbett Haselgrove-Spurin is course leader of the LLM in Commercial Dispute Resolution at the Law School University of Glamorgan and lectured at the Department of Maritime Studies and International Transport at the University of Wales College Cardiff before its demise in 2001. He is a visiting lecturer to universities in the US, Europe, The Middle East and the Far East and regular speaker at international conferences and seminars on construction law, maritime law and dispute resolution.

Before joining the University of Glamorgan he was a professional musician in the UK and France, a music teacher and an administrator for Trinity College of Music London, a time served bricklayer and clerk of works on major construction sites throughout the UK, and Managing Director of Duffryn Sundry Supplies, wholesalers, retailers and importers.

His research interests lie in the field of maritime and construction law, with a particular emphasis on international dispute resolution. He is the author of a series of texts on Arbitration, Dispute Resolution, Constitutional Law, International Trade and Finance, Construction Law, Carriage of Goods By Sea, Marine Insurance and Admiralty Law published by The University of Glamorgan Law School Press and the NMA Press in addition to articles in leading journals such as the ABA.

He is a claims consultant/ ADR party representative in the U.K., and an adjudicator, arbitrator, dispute review board panellist/chairman and mediator with court ordered mediation experience in the US.

He is Company Secretary to, and a fellow director of the Nationwide Academy for Dispute Resolution UK Ltd., a Board Member of the Nationwide Mediation Academy and a Director of Nationwide Academy for Dispute Resolution (Middle East) Ltd.

He is also a member of the Society of Construction Law and The Adjudication Society.

WHAT IS "EDR" ?

EDR is short for Electronic Dispute Resolution. You may also see it referred to elsewhere as "ODR" or online dispute resolution. I prefer to refer to it as EDR because this covers all the forms of modern electronic communication available for use by the modern ADR practitioner and is not limited to web based internet communication systems.

Essentially EDR covers the use of internet based and other modern electronic communication systems for the three way transmission of information between the parties to a dispute (including their representatives) and a privately appointed settlement facilitator or judge.

WHY USE EDR (or for that matter ADR?)

ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) is a range of private processes for the resolution of disputes, independent of state / court based judgement. It embraces both negotiated settlement and private determination, where the facilitator or arbiter is chosen directly by the parties or by a contractually approved appointment mechanism.

ADR ensures confidential information is kept out of the public arena, a very important factor for many commercial enterprises. If a potential client becomes aware of the fact that your firm is being sued it might conclude that your firm is unreliable and you may consequently loose business. Furthermore public trials can result in business secrets being disclosed, giving away a valuable advantage to the competition.

ADR is considered to be quicker than the courts. Domestic courts tend to take between two to seven years (the time scale varies from country to country) to resolve anything beyond the smallest of commercial claims. Mediation, fast track arbitration and adjudication take between four to eight weeks on average to complete the settlement process. Traditional arbitration takes between six to nine months on average. Examples of where it has taken longer are not however difficult to find - but usually this is because of the parties and their additional demands rather than because of the nature of the process.

The shortened time scale to resolution of ADR often means that the continual years of antagonism that are commonly associated with the court process are avoided. At the end of a trial the parties have often developed such high degrees of animosity towards each other, particularly when the trial has pitted one against the other, giving evidence which portrays the other in a very unfavourable light, that no future trading relationships are possible. By contrast, it is usual for post mediation litigants to resume business. Adjudication parties often never stop working together. Even the parties to arbitration are often able to pick up their business relationships after delivery of the award.

ADR is considered to be...

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