NCJ Number
109432
Journal
Emory Law Journal Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 575-578
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Articles by Professor Terrell and Professor Everett have considered the role of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in creating a more just world and have reached opposite conclusions.
Abstract
Both, however, argue that new ways of ordering our lives must rest on both history and some ultimate philosophical or theological context. Professor Terrell views ADR negatively, arguing that it provides an inadequate, unsystematic, and potentially damaging means of protecting individual rights in a contractual society. He argues further that ADR represents a threat to the traditional system of law, which is our only modern sense of community. However, ADR does not threaten the social order, because it is not a compulsory and arbitrary system of resolving conflict. It cannot replace our adversarial system of law. In contrast to Professor Terrell, Professor Everett suggests a return to earlier definitions of community based on covenant and the application of this concept in land ownership and use, professional cooperation, and issues relating to parenthood. The concept of covenant appears particularly relevant in discussions about professionalism, professional cooperation, and self-help movements.