Alternative Dispute Resolution
There are benefits and disadvantages to each type of resolution process, and all have an important role in society. People from all walks of life practice mediation, either as a career or as part of another vocation. Disputants come to mediation from many divergent paths. Some are referred, some mandated to attend, and some find mediation on their own. All disputants are looking for satisfaction of their needs, which are categorized into substantive, procedural, and psy chological interests.
Litigation, or the adjudication process, is a rights-based approach to resolving conflict. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) offers paths other than litigation. ADR approaches include arbitration (binding and nonbinding), med-arb, mediation, and personal conflict management. Each method differs in where the locus of control lies for decision making.
Most cultural traditions have some type of ADR process for handling conflicts. In the United States, the ADR movement was influenced by needs of business and government, as well as by cultural and religious traditions. Subsequently, there are many different approaches to mediation-leading to much confusion about what mediation entails. This text covers a pure, interest-based mediation model, with roots in the European American traditions of neutrality and impartiality. People who are beginning the study of media tion should be aware of the standards of practice in their state or territory. Becoming a practicing mediator requires much more than taking a class or reading a book.
