NCJ Number
72024
Journal
Arbitration Journal Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1980) Pages: 3-9
Date Published
1980
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Recent trends in resolving interpersonal, community, and environmental disputes are discussed and illustrated by case studies.
Abstract
The major new trends in dispute resolution have the following elements: (1) a significant movement away from cumbersome, expensive, and usually unsatisfactory litigation processes; (2) a growing tendency to substitute for litigation a variety of alternatives, such as mediation and arbitration; and (3) the adoption of procedures closely related to those uniquely successful methods by which Americans solve most labor disputes. The move away from formal litigation as a means of resolving disputes is due not only to the time, expense, and stigmatization involved, but also because most criminal and civil cases involve parties who are not strangers to one another. In many cases, the adversarial format imposed by formal litigation is not appropriate for the nature or the spirit of the dispute. Examples of interpersonal dispute resolutions accomplished through mediation and conflict resolution are provided from New York, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Examples of disputes between community groups, intergovernmental disputes, and environmental disputes resolved through meditation are also provided. The opportunities for clarifying the nature of the conflict through the use of guided communication between the parties and through rational compromise, while avoiding the time and cost of formal litigation, are noted.