Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or out-of-court mechanisms have been developed to help citizens who have a consumer dispute but who have been unable to reach an agreement directly with the trader.

ADR schemes usually use a third party such as an arbitrator, mediator or ombudsman to help to reach a solution.

The advantage of ADR compared to going to court:

• more flexibility
• can better meet the needs of both
• cheaper
• quicker
• more informal

In Estonia there are 2 out-of-court schemes:

1. Consumer Complain Committee (settles disputes between consumers and traders)
2. Insurance Court of Arbitration (settles insurance disputes).

The promotion of the ADR bodies is a one of the priorities of the European Commission. Hereby you can find two European Commission’s recommendations about the ADR bodies:

1) European Commission Recommendation (98/257/EC) on the Principles applicable to bodies responsible for the out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes.

2) European Commission Recommendation (2001/310/EC) listing the Principles for bodies who are involved in the consensual resolution of consumer disputes.

Database of notified out-of-court bodies.