Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (ADR) in the Western Balkans: Giving Mediation a Chance, Telling Our ADR Story, 2010

A few years ago, if a small or medium business enterprise in Western Balkans became entangled in a dispute with another company, the only option was to endure an extremely lengthy and expensive court procedure. The number of commercial disputes awaiting court attention in the region was in the millions. The long wait and high cost of litigation blocked access to funds and thus sealed the fate of many such enterprises. It also deterred potential foreign and domestic investors.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution program was started in 2003 with the goal of providing companies in the region with a much quicker and cheaper option for resolving commercial disputes: mediation. This report describes the means IFC used to introduce and implement this ADR approach in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

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