NCJ Number
95419
Date Published
1982
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the limitations of the traditional justice system and the increased need for dispute resolution services, and advocates the development of a private, nonadversarial, fee-for-service conflict resolution system.
Abstract
Civil dispute resolution systems -- including California's judicial arbitration, Federal district court judicial arbitration, private arbitration, private adjudication, institutional arbitration, judicial mediation, institutional mediation, and private mediation -- are reviewed, and the costs incurred by the State in processing litigation are analyzed. Considerations for establishing a private mediation and arbitration service for domestic and general disputes are examined, including whether the program will be court annexed or private and what form of dispute resolution will be offered. The program should include a training component, should accept personal injury cases, landlord/tenant/owner/contractor cases, consumer complaints, and divorce cases, among others, and should develop written procedures and brochures explaining the costs and processes involved. The program should be located in an area central to the city and accessible from all parts of the city. It may establish ongoing 'retainer' relationships with labor unions, credit unions, teacher associations, and other organizations in the same manner that group legal service insurance programs are operated. Citizens must have an alternative forum for dispute resolution; the judicial system is both overburdened and too expensive.