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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2010

Arno R. Lodder
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
John Zeleznikow
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne
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Summary

Fundamentals of dispute resolution

One can argue that the resolution of disputes is one of the earliest forms of human endeavour. For example, Moses supposedly descended from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and the 613 laws that can be found in the Torah. In addition to providing a framework in which Jews were to lead their life, these laws also gave guidance on how Jews should resolve disputes. But the resolution of disputes and disagreements occurred well before any biblical tracts existed. One such example is the admittedly very informal, but taken from the Torah, dialogue (or negotiation) between Abraham and God regarding criteria for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Obviously, people realised the importance of resolving disputes long before state-organised litigation originated.

Litigation has a long tradition, and is characterised by its formality and legal safeguards. Judges should be impartial and independent, and legal procedural law should guarantee the processes to be fair (cf., for example, fair-trial principle of Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights). In particular businesses often need faster outcomes than litigation can provide, and want the procedures to be confidential, whereas one of the principles underlying litigation is public hearing. Therefore, for more than a century arbitration has been used to resolve (international) disputes.

More recently, modern alternatives to litigation were heavily influenced by the National Conference on the Causes of Popular Dissatisfaction with the Administration of Justice, which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 7–9 April 1976.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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  • Introduction
  • Arno R. Lodder, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, John Zeleznikow, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne
  • Book: Enhanced Dispute Resolution Through the Use of Information Technology
  • Online publication: 04 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511777554.002
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Arno R. Lodder, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, John Zeleznikow, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne
  • Book: Enhanced Dispute Resolution Through the Use of Information Technology
  • Online publication: 04 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511777554.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Arno R. Lodder, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, John Zeleznikow, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne
  • Book: Enhanced Dispute Resolution Through the Use of Information Technology
  • Online publication: 04 August 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511777554.002
Available formats
×