Chief Justice on importance of alternative dispute resolution

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong says it's important to nurture a culture of alternative dispute resolution as it provides another option instead of going to trial. 

He was speaking at the two-day Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference on Thursday.

Citing the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre as an example, he pointed out that it played an important role in resolving many of the problems that arose from the Lehman Brothers crisis of 2008. 

Also speaking at the conference was Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye. 

He added that alternative dispute resolution, which includes mediation, should not be regarded by the local legal community as a threat to their business. 

He said in other countries, alternative dispute resolution has been welcomed as another business opportunity for collaborative law. 

Vice-President of the Law Society Lok Vi Ming explains why mediation is a viable alternative. 

"Mediation is less acrimonious and certainly less adversarial than litigation or perhaps even than arbitration. We think mediation can be a very effective as well as a very simple and sensible way toward resolving disputes. Best thing of all, I think as Asians, it is within our culture, within our makeup to try to make peace and to arrive at an amicable resolution."