11289 research outputs found
Sort by
Decentralized Dispute Resolution: Using Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts in Arbitration
Get PDFCan blockchain technology and smart contracts be used in the context of alternative dispute resolution, particularly arbitration, turning traditional procedures on their head? This article discusses various possible applications of blockchain technology and smart contracts in ADR. In particular, it addresses the possibility of fully automated execution of arbitral awards using a smart contract through so-called escrow mechanisms. Subsequently, it presents two promising approaches of so-called Decentralized Dispute Resolution (DDR), including Expert-Pooling and Crowdarbitration. DDR generally involves decisions made jointly by multiple or even all participants in a network (usually a blockchain network), rather than by just one or two intermediaries, and is managed by a smart contract. In the first approach, jurors join together to form so-called expert pools and offer their services without the parties knowing the pool members. Crowdarbitration is based on game-theoretic approaches, namely the “Schelling Point Principle” and crowdjustice. In both approaches, arbitral awards are typically enforced by an escrow mechanism. The final section comments on and evaluates each of these approaches, in particular their advantages and disadvantages, as well as their potential scope and limitations
Deserts Still Need Water: Using ADR Processes to Support Rural Residents and Counter the Challenges Stemming from the Shortage of Lawyers in the “Great American Legal Desert”
Get PDFResearchers dub rural America the “Great American Legal Desert,” deriving its nickname from the fact that roughly 20% of the nation\u27s population lives in rural America while only 2% of small law practices are located in rural areas. This comment proposes that an increase in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programming and usage serves as a viable avenue to alleviate the lawyer shortage’s harmful effects in rural America. This note begins by generally identifying ADR’s pros, such as cost, privacy, and community preservation, and then correlating these advantages to various aspects of rural America. ADR programming in Kentucky, Idaho, and Kansas is then explored, identifying what factors makes ADR in a rural setting both successful and unsuccessful. Next, various types of rural disputes, including agricultural, family, and business, are examined to determine where ADR can be most beneficial. Finally, methods are assessed to increase ADR awareness and usage in rural America by emphasizing educational, governmental, political, and judicial support, with the hope that change can create a lasting impact on rural communities today and in the future
The Policing/Mediation Nexus: An Autoethnographic Exploration of the Journey from Police Officer to Certified Mediator
Get PDFBy their very nature, policing and mediation are viewed as disparate professions. However, since the inception of policing, police officers have traditionally been involved in managing and handling conflict situations and thus, mediation type interventions have historically been an important component of police work. For the most part, police officers are untrained in mediation; however, many police officers are comfortable serving as go-between for neighbors, families, and communities in conflict using their intuition. As a result of acting as a ‘mediator’ for conflicting parties, without any formal mediation training, many former and current police officers eventually engage in mediation training and become certified mediators, as I did. Despite this occurrence, there is sparse scholarship on police officers who become mediators. As a result of this lacuna, the current study describes my journey from being a police officer to becoming a certified mediator. In this article, I describe how I utilized my intuition and police training to resolve conflicts without being a certified mediator; successes and failures encountered; community and organizational impacts; and how the conduct of informal mediation facilitated my eventual transition to a certified mediator with the Mediation Board of Trinidad and Tobago. Using evocative autoethnography as the fulcrum of inquiry to analyze aspects of myself, I trace my circuitous journey to becoming a mediator