Mediation refers to the process where conflicting parties enter into a negotiation with the help of a third-party neutral person who helps them reach a resolution that benefits both sides. The mediator’s primary role is to help communicate, obtain necessary information from both sources, and give resolution options that the parties might apply to reach a consensus. Binding arbitration is similar to an informal court where a neutral person listens to each party’s grievances and their evidence and, subsequently, draws a conclusion (Blake et al., 2016). As an arbitrator is a neutral person, they make a fair decision that brings a long-term solution.
The majority of conflicting parties nowadays prefer to use alternative dispute resolutions such as mediation and arbitration rather than litigation in court. There are several reasons why the alternative resolution is preferred. The primary one is lowered costs, such as the witness and lawyer fees (Delgado, 2017). Another reason is the ability to solve the conflicts in a private and confidential session as opposed to the litigation processes that take place on public courts. Alternative dispute resolution also enables control and flexibility on the rules and terms that will be followed when resolving disputes compared to a litigation process that follows strict and rigid constitutional rules.
There are several disputes where sports parties may prefer to use alternative dispute resolution than litigating, which may be costly and time-consuming. Some of such disputes are salary disagreements between the players and their team management, disputes involving doping among players, and minimum salaries for a specific type of player (Kornbeck, 2017). The team management can also use the alternative resolution to solve disputes with sports federation on the matters such as game rules.
References
Blake, S. H., Browne, J., & Sime, S. (2016). A practical approach to alternative dispute resolution (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Delgado, R. (2017). The unbearable lightness of alternative dispute resolution: Critical thoughts on fairness and formality. SMU Law Review, 70(3), 611.
Kornbeck, J. (2017). Dispute resolution in sport: Athletes, law and arbitration. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 11(4), 477-480. Web.