Civil Dispute Resolution
Balancing Themes and Theory

Understanding how to resolve conflicts between private parties is essential for Australian lawyers. Civil Dispute Resolution: Balancing Themes and Theory presents a comprehensive framework within which both civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution are addressed. This framework, based on balancing competing objectives of dispute resolution, simplifies and explains the many aspects of resolving disagreements between private parties. The book guides readers through every aspect of civil dispute resolution including the interaction between negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation as means to resolve civil disputes and the many stages of litigation, from the commencement of proceedings through to judgment and enforcement. The balancing themes are applied to demystify the resolution of civil disputes, including the role of specialist courts and tribunals, alternatives to court, pleadings, gathering documentary and witness evidence, legal costs, and trial preparation and attendance.

Part I. Civil Disputes and their Means of Resolution: 1. Introduction to civil dispute resolution; 2. Balancing competing objectives – the key themes of civil dispute resolution; 3. Access to justice and open justice; 4. Alternatives to court: ADR; 5. Managing court resources through ADR and summary disposition; 6. Lawyers, legal costs and their role in civil dispute resolution; 7. Managing resources through specialist courts and tribunals; Part II. Litigation: The Crucial Last Resort: 8. Interactions between parties and the courts; 9. Commencing proceedings; 10. Parties and pleading; 11. Party documents – the voyage of discovery; 12. Obtaining relevant information (alternatives to interparty discovery); 13. Protection of documents: privilege and confidentiality; 14. Witness evidence pre-trial; 15. Trial preparation and attendance; 16. Judgment, appeals and enforcement.

Dr Sonya Willis is a senior lecturer at Macquarie Law School. Sonya researches and teaches primarily in civil procedure and private international law. Sonya is currently engaged in researching the potential for an online litigant vulnerability assessment tool.