There are signs that attitudes to ADR are changing with more clients adopting such methods to avoid heated courtroom battles

Though arbitration is often more costly than court proceedings, this type of alternative dispute resolution is being used more widely in Portugal, according to Dário Moura Vicente, a counsel and arbitration specialist at Serra

Some international companies still have concerns that arbitrators in Spain are not impartial and that there are problems with corruption

If judges are given a lot of discretion then the concept of “legal certainty” – which is what clients want – is difficult to achieve, Joaquín García Bernaldo de Quirós, partner at Ramón

Courts are doing more to alleviate the troubles of debtors, the result of which has been that, with the real estate market in decline, banks own a lot of property with little value

Despite the fact that clients may prefer arbitration over litigation for the flexibility, independence and specialism it offers, it has traditionally been considered the more expensive option, according to Paulo de Moura Marques, founding partner

EU regulations on recognising member state judgments in other countries represent progress, but there is still uncertainty

Arbitration could increase as new companies and joint ventures – involving local businesses and international partners – are established in Spain