glossario

The term used internationally to refer to schemes for resolving disputes 'out-of-court' that is those that are 'outside' of the ordinary judicial process. ADR encompasses both 'arbitration', which encourages resolution through the intervention of a third party who arbitrates an agreement between the parties, and 'adjudication' whereby the dispute is resolved by decision of an impartial third-party panel. The ABF (Banking and Financial Ombudsman) is an adjudicative ADR scheme.