When the dispute cannot be solved amicably

WHENEVER there is a dispute, the best way to resolve it is through an amicable win-win settlement. This stands true, especially in eastern culture where we believe in solving a dispute harmoniously. However, there are times when a dispute cannot be solved through negotiation or mediation, such as after a few rounds of failed attempts or both parties assert their rights and are unwilling to compromise. When parties in a dispute reach that juncture, mediation is no longer a good way for dispute resolution. A third-party decision maker’s intervention would be necessary to determine a solution for that dispute.

Conventionally, such a dispute will be brought up to a court for decision making by one party against the other. However, in recent years, more disputing parties are seeking private dispute resolution through arbitration instead of submitting the case to a court. Unlike in a mediation where a mediator’s role is to facilitate the negotiation, an arbitrator makes a decision on the dispute known as an “award’ in an arbitration proceeding. In a mediation, parties may risk walking out without a solution, in contrast, an arbitral award has a binding effect against both parties in the arbitration proceeding. Thus, it provides certainty to the parties as at the end of the arbitral proceedings, an outcome is almost certain.