Mediation’s role is to provide a formal process that
resolves the dispute without violating ethical canons or
law. Applications of mediation encompass:
School
yard intervention: Mediation initiative to reduce
conflict and violence in schools. Can be supervised by
schoolteachers and conducted by specially trained peer
group mediators in the same classes.
Juvenile criminal justice
system for non-violent offenders: Under supervision of
criminal justice system caseworkers, community
volunteers conduct victim-offender mediation to help
kids get back on the right track.
Family counseling: Helps
divorcing individuals face the expected changes in roles
and duties with emotional balance.
Part of the civil court
system: Parties in lawsuits are aided in settlement
negotiations aimed at helping them determine their own
best interest.
Alternative to the formal
justice system: Mediation as part of community action
and conflict resolution where volunteers aid in
resolving conflicts and problems that otherwise would
end up in small claims court. Often conducted in
participation with the Better Business Bureau or
Community Alternative Dispute Resolution Centers.
Labor conflict
resolution: Process to find to end conflicts and
improve feelings in the workplace.
Institutional mediation:
A form of human resources management to resolve conflict
and improve communication between those served and the
institution. In large hospitals, churches and other
diverse organizations, mediation is a method of ensuring
communication addresses rather than ignores problems.
Diplomatic mediation:
Resolution of armed conflict by political means.
Undertaken to prevent countries from going to war or to
help countries at war find peace.
Something better: Per
Texas Law Review, A Glass Half Full at Vol. 73:1594
“Mediation is more accessible and understandable to the
layperson. It is less adversarial, expensive, and
time-consuming than litigation and is more likely to
produce an outcome that matches the interests of the
disputants.”
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