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Dispute resolution



 
 
Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties
Party (law)

A 'party' is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law.Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in civil litigation, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the plaintiff, or, in older American cases, the party of the first p...
.

ods of dispute resolution include: One could theoretically include violence
Violence

Violence is the expression of physical force against self or other, compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt. Variant uses of the term refer to the destruction of non-living objects ....
 or even war
War

...
 as part of this spectrum, but dispute resolution practitioners do not usually do so; violence rarely ends disputes effectively, and indeed, often only escalates them. Some individuals, notably Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953....
, have stated that all problems emanate from man, and absent man, no problems ensue.






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Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties
Party (law)

A 'party' is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law.Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in civil litigation, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the plaintiff, or, in older American cases, the party of the first p...
.

Methods

Methods of dispute resolution include:
  • lawsuit
    Lawsuit

    In law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, called the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy or equitable remedy....
    s (litigation)
  • arbitration
    Arbitration

    Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a law technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound....
  • collaborative law
    Collaborative law

    Overview and HistoryCollaborative Law was originally a family law procedure in which the two parties agreed that they would not go to court, or threaten to do so....
  • mediation
    Mediation

    Mediation, a form of alternative dispute resolution or "appropriate dispute resolution", aims to assist two disputants in reaching an agreement....
  • conciliation
    Conciliation

    Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution process whereby the parties to a dispute agree to utilize the services of a conciliator, who then meets with the parties separately in an attempt to resolve their differences....
  • many types of negotiation
    Negotiation

    Negotiation is a dialogue intended to Dispute resolution, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or Collective bargaining, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests....
  • facilitation
One could theoretically include violence
Violence

Violence is the expression of physical force against self or other, compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt. Variant uses of the term refer to the destruction of non-living objects ....
 or even war
War

...
 as part of this spectrum, but dispute resolution practitioners do not usually do so; violence rarely ends disputes effectively, and indeed, often only escalates them. Some individuals, notably Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953....
, have stated that all problems emanate from man, and absent man, no problems ensue. Hence, violence could theoretically end disputes, but alongside it, life.

Dispute resolution processes fall into two major types:
  1. Adjudicative
    Adjudication

    Adjudication is the law process by which an arbitration or judge reviews evidence and Logical argument including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved....
     processes, such as litigation or arbitration, in which a judge, jury or arbitrator determines the outcome.
  2. Consensual processes, such as collaborative law, mediation, conciliation, or negotiation, in which the parties attempt to reach agreement.


Not all disputes, even those in which skilled intervention occurs, end in resolution. Such intractable disputes form a special area in dispute resolution studies.

Judicial dispute resolution

The legal system provides a necessary structure for the resolution of many disputes. However, some disputants will not reach agreement through a collaborative processes. Some disputes need the coercive power of the state to enforce a resolution. Perhaps more importantly, many people want a professional advocate when they become involved in a dispute, particularly if the dispute involves perceived legal rights, legal wrongdoing, or threat of legal action against them.

The most common form of judicial dispute resolution is litigation. Litigation is initiated when one party files suit against another. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, litigation is facilitated by the government within federal, state, and municipal courts. The proceedings are very formal and are governed by rules, such as rules of evidence and procedure, which are established by the legislature. Outcomes are decided by an impartial judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
 and/or jury
Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render a rationalism, impartiality verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence or judgment....
, based on the factual questions of the case and the application law. The verdict of the court is binding, not advisory; however, both parties have the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court. Judicial dispute resolution is typically adversarial in nature, e.g., involving antagonistic parties or opposing interests seeking an outcome most favorable to their position.

Retired judges or private lawyers often become arbitrators or mediators; however, trained and qualified non-legal dispute resolution specialists form a growing body within the field of ADR. In the United States of America, many states now have mediation or other ADR programs annexed to the courts, to facilitate settlement of lawsuits.

Extrajudicial dispute resolution

Some use the term dispute resolution to refer only to alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution

Alternative dispute resolution includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judiciary. Despite historic resistance to ADR by both parties and their advocates, ADR has gained widespread acceptance among both the general public and the legal profession in recent years....
 (ADR), that is, extrajudicial processes such as arbitration, collaborative law, and mediation used to resolve conflict and potential conflict between and among individuals, business
Business

A business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide good s and/or Service to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalism economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners....
 entities, governmental agencies, and (in the public international law context) state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
s. ADR generally depends on agreement by the parties to use ADR processes, either before or after a dispute has arisen. ADR has experienced steadily increasing acceptance and utilization because of a perception of greater flexibility, costs below those of traditional litigation, and speedy resolution of disputes, among other perceived advantages. However, some have criticized these methods as taking away the right to seek redress of grievances in the court
Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
s, suggesting that extrajudicial dispute resolution may not offer the fairest way for parties not in an equal bargaining relationship, for example in a dispute between a consumer
Consumer

Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or household that use Good generated within the economic system. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary....
 and a large corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
. In addition, in some circumstances, arbitration and other ADR processes may become as expensive as litigation or more so.

Online dispute resolution

Dispute resolution can also take place on-line or by using technology in certain cases. Online dispute resolution
Online Dispute Resolution

Online dispute resolution is a branch of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. It primarily involves negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or a combination of all three....
, a growing field of dispute resolution, uses new technologies to solve disputes. Online Dispute Resolution is also called "ODR". Online Dispute Resolution or ODR also involves the application of traditional dispute resolution methods to disputes which arise online.

Further reading

  • Morris, Catherine, ed. Victoria, Canada: Peacemakers Trust.
  • Sherwyn, David, Tracey, Bruce & Zev Eigen, In Defense of Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Disputes: Saving the Baby, Tossing out the Bath Water, and Constructing a New Sink in the Process, 2 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 73 (1999)
  • Ury, William, 2000. The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. Penguin Putnam. New York. ISBN 0-14-029634-4


See also

  • Alternative dispute resolution
    Alternative dispute resolution

    Alternative dispute resolution includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judiciary. Despite historic resistance to ADR by both parties and their advocates, ADR has gained widespread acceptance among both the general public and the legal profession in recent years....
  • Collaborative divorce
    Collaborative divorce

    Overview and HistoryCollaborative Family Law was originally a family law procedure in which the two parties agreed that they would not go to court, or threaten to do so....
  • Collaborative law
    Collaborative law

    Overview and HistoryCollaborative Law was originally a family law procedure in which the two parties agreed that they would not go to court, or threaten to do so....
  • Conflict resolution
    Conflict resolution

    Conflict resolution is a range of processes aimed at alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict. The term "conflict resolution" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution....
  • Conflict resolution research
    Conflict resolution research

    Conflict resolution is any reduction in the severity of a conflict. It may involve conflict management, in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics; settlement, in which they reach agreement on enough issues that the conflict stops; or removal of the underlying causes of the conflict....
  • Creative Peacebuilding
    Creative Peacebuilding

    Creative Peacebuilding is the larger name for creative therapies being used to create peace, within individuals, groups, and societies. These therapies are used with many different demographic groups and in various types of situations....
  • Diplomacy
    Diplomacy

    Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture....
  • Party-directed mediation
  • Peacekeeping
    Peacekeeping

    Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace." It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
  • Restorative justice
    Restorative justice

    Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that focuses on crime and wrongdoing as acted against the individual or community rather than the state....
  • National Arbitration Forum
    National Arbitration Forum

    The National Arbitration Forum, founded in 1986, is one of the nation's largest dispute resolution companies. The company provides arbitration and mediation services to businesses, based out its Minneapolis, Minnesota headquarters and offices in New Jersey....


External links

  • Resources for dispute resolution practitioners and consumers.
  • offers extensive resources in the field of dispute resolution.