Due to their specific nature, medical disputes pose difficulties for judges, and they are characterized by lengthy proceedings and significant costs. The litigation delays the actual restoration of the victim’s rights, and it poses reputational risks for medical organizations and doctors. As a result, various ADR techniques are being tested in global practice to resolve medical disputes: pre‑trial screening panel, mediation, arbitration, etc. In Russia, the experience of using ADR procedures in the field of medical malpractice is extremely limited. Despite the existing regulation, most medical disputes are still resolved in court. This situation is caused by a combination of objective factors, including the specific features of the Russian healthcare system, the nuances of procedural law, and the excessive pro‑consumer approach to medical disputes. The author of the study suggests taking a number of measures aimed at reducing the weight of relevant factors and increasing the interest of the parties in ADR procedures. In particular, mediation or other conciliation procedure could be introduced as a mandatory pre‑trial procedure, provided that this does not significantly limit the availability of judicial protection. The non‑arbitrability of disputes regarding compensation for harm to life and health as provided in Article 221 of the Russian Civil Procedure Code is not indisputable. De lege lata suggests that the relevant prohibition should be interpreted restrictively and should not apply to claims by patients for compensation for moral damage that are not related to injury. De lege ferenda, it is possible to cancel the above prohibition, provided that the arbitration agreement with the victim is concluded after the injury has been inflicted. Partial arbitrability of medical disputes can also be achieved in the case of a wider spread of liability insurance for medical service providers by transferring patients’ claims regarding the quality of treatment to the level of disputes over the payment of insurance compensation.
Maxim Kratenko (Thu,) studied this question.