ADR in the administrative law: A perspective from the United Kingdom

Abstract

Administrative ADR encompasses a number of grievance mechanisms that provide an alternative to court litigation. However, due to space constraints, the chapter focuses on three types of ADR, namely, “internal appeal,” “mediation,” and the “public Ombudsman.” A central claim of this work is that there exists a fine balance between PDR and the constitutional values that are intrinsic to a system of administrative justice. There is sufficient evidence, for instance, to suggest that public Ombudsmen, despite their shortcomings and need for reform, have the greatest potential to strike this fine balance between PDR and fundamental constitutional values. That said, there are many more issues that should be looked at here, some of which are fundamental, such as the place of ADR in common law and the issue of ADR specifically in public law, while one may still want to be cautious about the divide between public law and private law in the context of the common law. Finally, there is also an issue of balance to be sought between the use of ADR and the quality of administrative justice.