Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution Means allows various types of disputes to be resolved more quickly, simply and affordably, serving as an alternative to court proceedings.

Justices of the Peace are courts where disputes relating to contracts, property, consumer disputes, among others, can be resolved. They are based on a public partnership between the Ministry of Justice and local authorities or public entities of recognised merit.

Currently, the network of Justices of the Peace covers 70 municipalities across the country, and even if there is no Justice of the Peace in your municipality, you can use the mediation services of any Justice of the Peace. In this case, if the parties cannot reach an agreement, they cannot proceed to the trial stage.

Learn more on the advantages and how they work by visiting the Justices of the Peace page.

Mediation helps people in conflict to communicate and find a solution to the situation, rather than taking the case to court, with the support of a professional - the mediator. Mediation only takes place if the people in conflict want it to.

The mediator must:

• be impartial towards everyone involved;
• facilitate and encourage communication;
• help to reach an agreement.

Unlike in arbitration tribunals or magistrates' courts, the mediator cannot make a decision. The decision is made by the parties in conflict. The content of mediation sessions is confidential and cannot be used as evidence in court.

In addition to civil mediation services, which are available in magistrates' courts, the Ministry of Justice, through the DGPJ, is responsible for managing three other public mediation systems in specialised areas:

• The Family Mediation System (SMF);
• The Labour Mediation System (SML);
• The Criminal Mediation System (SMP).

Discover the Public Mediation Systems and find the solution to your conflict.

Arbitration centres provide information, mediation and conciliation to people in dispute. When the parties involved in the dispute cannot reach an agreement, the case is referred to arbitration. Arbitration is conducted by an arbitration court, organised by the arbitration centre.

A ruling by an arbitration court has the same weight as a ruling issued by a court of law. If one of the parties fails to comply with the arbitral award, the other party may appeal to a court of first instance to enforce the award.

Arbitration Centres are entities recognised by the Ministry of Justice for the resolution of disputes in specialised matters.

The Ministry of Justice provides financial support to Arbitration Centres, considering the importance that certain areas have in the lives of citizens:

•    general consumption;
•    automobile sector;
•    insurance industry;
•    industrial property sector, domain names, firms and denominations;
•    administrative area (with jurisdiction in administrative and tax matters).

Learn more on the functioning and competences of Arbitration Centres.