How to Resolve a Maritime Dispute?
Maritime disputes tend to be international
and commercial in their nature and often highly complex. Thankfully today court
litigation is not the only method for resolving a dispute. There are
essentially six modern methods of dispute resolution, as follows:
Negotiation – This is where the parties get together and try to negotiate a
settlement of the issues and perhaps claims between them. It can be effective
because the dispute will be elevated to a higher level within the firms in
question, perhaps taking the dispute out of the hands of the individuals who
are at loggerheads. Commercial considerations begin to be more at play and
there can be a greater appetite to compromise. It is also the most cost
effective method costing nothing, other than perhaps the cost of supporting
legal advice or assistance with the negotiation process.
Mediation – Mediation essentially involves the appointment of an individual
to go between the parties and see if they can find common ground or tease out
settlement terms that would be acceptable to both sides.
Conciliation – Tends to be reserved for employment disputes.
Adjudication – Tends to be reserved for construction disputes. This method is
very quick because often there is a strict timetable for submitting evidence
and providing an Award. The adjudicator in Construction disputes in the UK must
provide a decision within 28 days of the instruction. This has been
intentionally designed for construction disputes where daily costs are often
being incurred of hundreds of thousands and if a project were to be delayed for
a series of months it would cause considerable economic impact. So the parties
sacrifice the ability to present their case and analyse it in granular detail
for the right to obtain a swift judgment.
Arbitration – This where the parties appoint an arbitrator or a panel of three
arbitrators to listen to their case and give a judgment in much the same way
that a court would, but without the strict rules of evidence, delays, formality
and the need for lawyers. Also, importantly, it can be done and normally is in
private. So the media and the public never become aware of the facts or
judgment. The parties can go to arbitration by having a standard term in their
contract agreeing to do so, or by agreeing to resolve a dispute that has
otherwise arisen by arbitration. They may decide on almost every element of how
the arbitration should be conducted, but tend to choose a standard form of
rules such as the UNCITRAL, CIArb, CII Rules etc., which provide adaptable
templates for Arbitration procedures. Arbitration is by far the most common way
to resolve maritime disputes and frequently the LMAA (or London Maritime
Arbitrators’ Association) Rules are used.
Litigation – If all else fails the parties always have their
original recourse to a court of law.
