Designing mediation for Scottish Civil Courts: Options and opportunity

In this article, the author examines whether the dispute resolution processes proposed in 2019 for civil courts in Scotland are suitable for the context of civil justice in Scotland in 2020 and the future. They are measured according to the policy context, what is known about the purposes of litigation, dispute system design and the needs and cultures of an adversarial civil justice system currently grappling with the impact of coronavirus restrictions.

Why the Haves Come Out Further and Further Ahead: The Repeat Player Effect, Control over Dispute System Design, and Justice

Let’s start at the beginning of the yellow brick road that led to the Repeat Player Effect paper. I skipped my senior year of high school to attend a women’s college (Smith) and double-majored in ancient Greek and philosophy, on account of which (cf. Sleepless in Seattle...

Disputant Experience and Preferences for Mediated or Adjudicated Processes in Administrative Agencies: The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Settlement Part Program

Research is limited regarding the type and amount of experience that matters for disputant preferences in dispute resolution processes. The authors focus on a unique federal appellate agency dispute resolution program at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Participants are professionals with repeat experience who are likely to have future interactions with the agency. Using survey data and regression analyses, the authors find that 1) greater personal experience with mediation or adjudication leads to a greater preference for mediation over adjudication; 2) higher levels of satisfaction with the fairness of process are associated with stronger preferences for mediation over adjudication; and 3) disputants who perceive a fair process in their most recent cases will express a greater preference for mediation over adjudication. Results have important implications for dispute system design.

Online Dispute Resolution for Small Civil Claims in Victoria: A New Paradigm in Civil Justice

This article seeks to explore some of the implications of integrating information and communications technology into judicial processes to resolve small civil claims. It argues that, as ODR moves from individual private-sector initiatives to widespread public sector institutionalisation, governance and value questions will need to be seriously considered. This is because questions regarding the appropriateness of the use of certain ODR systems in the resolution of small claims and consumer disputes persist, especially in relation to the use of systems which are fully autonomous. For example, how are fundamental due process requirements to be balanced against the economic constraints of resolving low value disputes? What are the limits to the evolution of civil justice to make it more accessible? It is argued that, while ODR holds vast potential for increasing access to justice, attention needs to be given to the dispute system design to ensure that it achieves that goal and does not result in the erosion of fundamental values of civil justice, including accessibility, transparency, legal validity and accountability.