This policy brief, written by Dr Christopher Hodges and Professor Stefan Vogenauer of Oxford University, is published as costs and funding are assuming far greater importance as keys to evaluating and providing access to justice.

The findings were drawn upon by Lord Justice Jackson in his influential Costs Review which recommended moving to American style contingency fees, a recommendation that is widely expected to be implemented by the UK coalition government.

This policy brief addresses alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in Europe to propose an integrated, holistic approach to encompass the range of mechanisms for resolving disputes, including ombudsmen, compensation schemes, business codes of conduct, complaint boards, and other pathways.

In response to the increase in collective redress, a European alternative to US-style class actions is presented by way of a model for the alignment of the various existing systems to promote good practice.

This report summarizes the findings of an Oxford research project and an international conference which assessed alternative methods for settling consumer disputes that do not involve the courts.

The report was published on the day the European Commission announced draft legislation on consumer ADR, and comes in response to the finding that many governments are interested in ADR as an alternative to courts to improve access to justice, overcome problems of costs and funding for court mechanisms, and help maintain competitive markets.