Alternatives to going to court

If you have a dispute with someone, it's expensive, time-consuming and stressful to go to court. But you don't always need to go to court to solve a dispute. You might be able to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

If you have a dispute with your partner, neighbour, landlord, bank or a public body there are ways to sort it out without going to court. You could use an alternative dispute resolution or ADR including:

  • conciliation
  • mediation
  • neutral evaluation
  • adjudication
  • arbitration
  • using ombudsmen and other regulatory bodies

Reasons for using ADR

ADR schemes are not meant to replace the courts in all cases but there are some advantages to using ADR instead of going to court. ADR can:

  • solve your problem faster
  • cost less
  • avoid the stress of going to court
  • help preserve your relationship with the other party
  • be confidential
  • be flexible and provide a range of outcomes
  • help achieve mutual agreement

When ADR may not be suitable

Although ADR has many benefits there are some risks and costs. But in some situations, ADR may not be suitable:

  • some types of dispute, for example domestic abuse
  • issues needing urgent court action, such as to prevent you losing your home
  • the outcome needs to be legally binding
  • the other party is unwilling to take part in ADR

Be realistic about what can be achieved through ADR.

Getting independent advice

Independent advice can help you make an informed decision about which ADR method might suit best or whether to enter into an ADR process at all.

Independent advice can also be important before deciding whether to accept a solution agreed through an ADR process such as conciliation or mediation.

You can get independent advice from various sources, for example:

To find a solicitor near you, go to:

Alternatives to court in Northern Ireland booklet

To read more information about alternatives to court action, go to:

More useful links

More in this section

Share this page


What do you want to do?
What is your question about?
Do you want a reply?
Your email address
To reply to you, we need your email address
Your feedback

We will not reply to your feedback.  Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

This feedback form is for issues with the nidirect website only.

You can use it to report a problem or suggest an improvement to a webpage.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly as we don’t have access to information about you held by government departments.

You must be aged 13 years or older - if you’re younger, ask someone with parental responsibility to send the feedback for you.

The nidirect privacy notice applies to any information you send on this feedback form.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.
Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

What to do next

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

What to do next

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

What to do next

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

What to do next

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

What to do next

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries about:

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

What to do next

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

What to do next

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about rates, email:
rating@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about property valuation, email:
valuation@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about land registry for land registry, email:
CustomerInformation.LandRegistration@finance-ni.gov.uk

For mapping queries, email:
Mapping.Helpdesk@finance-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.