All matters discussed at an Arbitration are entirely confidential. The parties to an e-Court arbitration, including the arbitrator, will sign an arbitration agreement that binds all of them to this concept of confidentiality. Nothing that has been discussed by anyone in an arbitration can be repeated without the express consent of all involved. Further, nothing that has been disused in an e-Court arbitration can be shared with a traditional court without the express consent of all involved. Everything, aside form any agreement between the parties, is what lawyers refer to as, without prejudice, in other words, if any party ultimately wish to bring the conflict through a traditional court process and end up in a traditional court your discussions, and potentially agreement on some issues, in the arbitration cannot bind you in any way. It must be stated that regular courts most likely accept the verdict from an e-Court for many reasons not only because the regular courts are overburdned especially in common & civic law disputes.

Anyone who has been through the process of bringing a case to court, or being sued, often feels aggrieved at the costs of doing so. Rarely are lawyers praised for being good value for money. Naturally, each arbitrator will have their own way of charging for each arbitration. But generally the arbitration cost is fixed at the outset and often this cost is shared between the parties equally. At no time can costs charged by the arbitrator be more than 60% of the regular fees charged by the practitioner. There will be no extra costs at the end, in fact all costs including the small e-Court overhead charge are being paid before arbitration begins. Whilst the costs of arbitrations will vary according to the complexity of the dispute, the cost will be fixed at the outset in an entirely transparent way and there will be no surprises. Furthermore ir is a comfort to know that there will be strict e-Court rule is that all monies paid will end up in an escrow run by a third party bank or other recognized reliable organinzation. On some occasions one party will agree to pay all the costs involved, for example when an employment dispute is the subject of arbitration the employer often pays for the arbitration. Arbitration via e-Court is always a cheaper process than litigating a dispute through a traditional court.

As mentioned above, after going through court litigation many of those involved will complain about the cost of the whole process. The next most frequent compliant is the amount of time it took. From your first meeting with a legal practitioner to the hearing of a civil dispute in a traditional court, it is not unusual for a period of 1 to 2 years to have elapsed. Courts and Tribunals are constantly trying to reduce this delay, and often to good effect. But, for a variety of procedural and other reasons, the whole court process can take a lot of time. e-Court Arbitration is a much quicker process an therefore a more attractive way forward. One way e-Court Arbitration is quicker is due to the fact that parties do not need to engage a lawyer and one does not necessarily always need the services of a lawyer at their side the whole way through the process as required in a traditional court. Whether a party is introduced to e-Court Arbitration through their lawyers, or if they directly engage in an e-Court Arbitration, if all paper work is ready and the parties are available, an arbitration can be arranged within days of approaching an arbitrator on e-Court's roster of "vetted" & reliable legal practitioners.

Many disputes that go through the traditional courts can be very damaging, if not terminal, to the relationships of the parties involved. Whilst it is not always possible, the e-Court arbitration can often preserve the relationships between the parties. One of the main parts of any e-Court arbitration is when all parties involved hear what each feels about the dispute, or problem, between them is. Often, disputes between parties arise as a result of poor communication of a problem between them, or one party feels that the other doesn't understand why they are aggrieved. Arbitration provides a forum for each side to hear what the other side is feeling. In fact e-Court provides a continuous "open" book with full transparency of the recordings of each and every electronic conference. Additionally, e-Court involves strict rules of evidence and cross examination. The e-Court arbitration is normally conducted in a neutral and more relaxed venue. The pressure on the parties is therefore reduced, often leading to a more proactive and positive engagement by all involved.

Arbitration begins when two parties agree to settle their dispute through arbitration. The decision may also have been made for them by the addition of an arbitration clause to a contract that both parties have signed.

Typically, the dispute is submitted to an Arbitrator who resolves the dispute after hearing a presentation by both parties. The presentation may be just documents submitted to the arbitrator by each side. More often, in addition to the documents submitted, each side will make an oral argument in person. Usually each side will have a Barrister to make the oral argument for them. Occasionally, the presentation also includes witnesses who testify. For a dispute to be referred to arbitration either: (i) both parties will be in agreement for the matter to be referred to arbitration with an agreed Arbitrator; or (ii) there will be an arbitration clause in a contract between the parties that names an organisation as the appointing body in any dispute under the contract

What are the typical steps of an e-Court Arbitration Process:

(1) Filing and Initiation: An arbitration case begins when one party ( the Plaintiff) submits a demand for Arbitration to e-Court. The other party (the respondent or Defendant) is notified by e-Court and a deadline is set for a response.

(2) Arbitrator Selection: e-Court ( case coordinator or court clerk ) works with the parties to identify and select an arbitration based on the criteria determined by the parties.

(3) PRE-Preliminary Video Conference ( the PPC ): parties getting to-gether to get a "feel" for the arbitrator they selected. At this stage the e-Court arbitrator makes his/her convincing case that arbitration under his/her guidance will be held in a neutral and effective manner. All parties at this stage can "opt out" and there shall be no charges levied for the PPC. Only when all parties agree to continue with arbitration will all conflicting parties sign the abitration agreement that parties will abide by the final verdict ( award ) at the end of the arbitartion process

(4) Preliminary Hearing: The arbitrator conducts a preliminary hearing with the parties, to discuss the issues in the case and procedural matters, such as witnesses, depositions, sharing information, and other matters.

(5) Information Exchange and Preparation: The parties then prepare for presentations and exchange information.

(6) Hearings: At the hearing, both parties may present testimony and evidence to the arbitrator. Unless the case is very complex, this is usually the only hearing before the arbitrator.

(7) Post-Hearing Submissions: After the hearing, both parties may present additional documentation, as allowed by the arbitrator.

(8) The Verdict / Award: Finally, the arbitrator closes the record on the case and issues a decision, including an award, if applicable.