Arbitration and Mediation as Alternatives to Court (From Symposium on Judicial Reform, Philip L Dubois, ed. - See NCJ-84719)

• NCJ Number: 84723
• Journal: Policy Studies Journal Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: (June 1982) Pages: 712-726
• Author(s): C A McEwen; R J Maiman
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): SES-7908872
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Advocates of mediation and arbitration claim their superiority to adjudication in three areas: reduction of court caseloads and costs; increase in accessibility of justice; and improvement in the quality of justice.

Abstract

Available evidence shows that mediation and arbitration neither lower court costs (though they increase court capacity), nor substantially expand access to justice. By some measures, however, mediation provides fairer outcomes and, in civil cases, higher rates of compliance than does adjudication. Though less effective than often claimed in reducing problems of administering justice, mediation and arbitration -- in their distinctive ways -- do thus offer modestly effective alternatives to court. (Author abstract)