- u -.

ruvc-rv'7"(1TI0-f\:CTJ

f> iflicu Uil s of Legal Process:

11) Th is procc s is very time consum mg and lengthy
process to f ol low;
(ii) Th i s procl'SS requ ires a lot of money and often holds
d ispu tes, and leaves permanent scars on the mind
of r he losing part y rather than resolving the problem,
and it may end in making the disputes endemic
and long
lasti ng
(111) l'hc procedure is very complex and cumbersome;
( 1v) It is a win-lose situation and sometimes stimulates
further conflict. When the losing party gets a chance,
t hey look for revenge;
(v) There is chances of deception in the process;
(' i) One has to depend on lawyers from beginning to end
of the system;
(vii) ln many countries the formal legal process is
politically motivated, corrupt, biased to particular
section of the society and finally not accessible to
\ poor.
,\
Why Alternative Dispu te Resolution (ADR)?
The need of ADR may be viewed from three different
perspecti ves: (i) interest of the state; (ii) interest of the
stakeholders (judges, lawyers, mediators and litigants); and (iii)
publ ic perception.

ADR may serve the interest of the state in many ways. First,
ADR reduces burden on courts and adjudication proceSs by
resolv)ng disputes at an earlier stage giving ultimately a healthy
sign to judi cial system. Secor£, by red ucing workload of jud9es
it allows sufficient times in dispensation of justice in other
nlatters raising the standard and quality of justice . Third, b
·educing backlog of pendin cases_it saves huge revenue.t,oyrtfl.
 'US(j
Ce and .......
A. rticle I\ l)R . l'h(:o . .
s1g 8 of DD ri(; a1,<1 I> .
nator y I-I R. h . ( vc k>p1ncn1
\\·eII. 1\s sates to s n1pos<-'d
.
righ art1cuJa 1ov1de fai . <l < uty <>n t he ,
tr 'b t to an tcd in Arti 'l, r .1 u t1c·<-· l C> 'all' <_> vcr!1nc·nt of
.z ll na/s fi effective c <- 8 of lJDJ l .. .of i t <; c1t1z<.·n.., "">
hzrn by th or acts viol remed y hy "'" R • f',1J<•1·1;c111e ti"' Ir"' @:!]
,, e Constitll t . otzng the fi.oi d o <>1111,Jct.<' nt nut iorui f
( ) Acee . ion or h1; /(lw " ment (l rzy ht s q r rmt <'d
. . .
nstrutn , tO JU
SS •
sticc i
;.;;-"cnts n other interna tional
( a ) n te .
't t i ah Covenant on Civil and Political
ights
r n a tional
1 9 6 6
RI'?hts to access to . .
b
re.iterat. ed A .
re cognized in UDHR een
rt1 h
h
·t n J u scletic e ave
1 6 . f
Civil and Politic L R . I o t e I nternational Covenant on
ICCPR "p a zg 1ts i 966. As stated in Article 16 of
>ve : ,veryone sha. ll have the rig ht to
recognition zere as a person before the law".
'!t·ernational Covenant on Economic Social
and Cu 1l ural Rig hts 1966 '
U nl i ke I CCPR, Int ernational Covenant on Economic
Social and (7ult ural Rig hts (ICESCR) deals with the
ecnomic social and cultu ral rights of people . Therefore,
ICESCR doe not provide any direct sanction regarding
access to court but t ries to ensu re social rights for people.
As will be discussed
fu rth er in this text, access to education, and income etc.
could be a major detcrn1inant of the ability of a person to
secure formal justice through courts. Therefore, although
i ndirectly, provisions of ICESCR are also important to ensure
access to justice for every individual living in a society.

Literally, justice is available when rules of Jaw arc written in

law books and arc practiced i n courts. However, the
divergence from the literal availabil ity of justice in law books
and its practical availabilit y in a court system may not ensure
·act ua l' access to justice for 'all'.
 EAN JNG OF ACCESS TO JUSTI
Access f r the poo:r and disadvntagcd to fonnal justice
and legal cn t1t1crncnts 111 't he courts 1n Bangladesh is
lim ited bv a huge case backlog, delays in the disposal of
cases and high litigation costs (Alan1 2000; Asia n
Development Bank 2002· Kan1al 2002; Siddiqu n 2005;
Cho\vdhury 2005; An1ce 2005a ). At prc.(nc "[t]hcrc are
77 Supreme Court [justices], t nd 750 other judges to
dispense justi ce to a population of n ea r ly 150 n1iUion
llCoplc' (Transparency Internationa l 200,,
p. 181). Th is scart'·ity of judges is a contributing factor to
the e,·cr-'i ncreasi nv. n lun ht!r of u n rcsol\·ed cases. For
exam pk\ 'in 2006 only '148.56:1 c'JSlts ,,·care disposed
of from 617,059 cast's pl act•d ht"ort• t lu.· district courts
of Bangladesh and t lH_'rcfon.\ k'fl 468,4q(, l·t&l'S pl'nding
for al at the
end
of lhl' year (SuprcnH!(,ourt of Bangladeab 2oo8,p.85).Thl'
H igh Cou rt l )i, iion of t he Supreme ONlt also suffers a
hack ing proh lc1n. .·'\l«·ord ing to offidal
2006, of
.,...,la. in
't he 75,so9 ci,"i l u ppt·als filed,
disposed of, lea,·i n 71,816 aooe&ll
Cou rt Di,·ision of t he Supreme '-

Ba....-
AnN• (Snprein t' t'ourt of Ba nladesh

rat e nf disposa'I <.·ont i n u .

o\'f•rco1n ' t h is hack lo and ensu,
l 'l hruuh forn1a I <'ourts.
Th.....inM I
hroadl'n t he scope of ac t 1
I n i ts narro''er sl'nsc,
forr1al <.1dju di l·41t h·l' pr
10
hti a'lion (:\(; AGI) ." I
J
nrnn\
I poor a< \
<llH . " , J ))C·opl<' i n Ba ng a< c-s i ll
' l ,
cl1
· w<
Hillel,.,< . , r1s ..... J11' <'h
hcc·on H! i m pcrn l l \ c. f'Ill< j ",11 ·iJ It'1'11'1IJ V(' Il l
1 ,n1 of this
to
'
C d •
.
r<'rHkr · ·
Sl '<.' <l<'('<'s. ·1 J < · t o t i t<' poor. 1 }it{ p<1r ' I 1·11eo t ice
A r
J ll l ( c.,i ) I f TI
· I
Ch<1pl cr d isc11ssc" sollH' ot H'J' rc·a ',<_> 1y t H' o• n c<J a nd
1l.s .\V.
,;r ·
"\ St em ll<l'-' onh J in1it cd iH'C'('SsJ h1 1ty t o fl.e ) :'l<'CCSS
'rl1H.'r<1 h ll' i n t he socict v. Ex ist c·JH'e of s11Ch ha n 1 c· s.' 'r R i11
fornw l jusl1cc fu r t her r('inforces t he lH'<'d t o prad H c A
Ba ngladc h.

G. MANDATES TO PRACTICE ADR

\ Vh ilc .ADR rnay have n1any benefits, one relevant que?tion
is
\\ hct hcr the practice of ADR is pcrn1issi le u nder
.different social, l egal and religious standards w.h1ch
constitute the sources of different national and international
lavvs.
. DR u nder Quranic law
One of the basic princi ples of Islam on which Islamic family
is formed is mercy (Rehma). The Holy Quran depicts the
foundation of marriage as based on love and tranquillity:
And among His signs is this, that He created for you
mates from among you rselves, that you may dvvell in
peace and tranq uillity with them, and He has put love
a nd mercy between your (hearts): Verily in that are signs
for those who reflect (Al Quran 30: 21).
In this verse, Allah informs us that He has placed mercy
bet,vcen spouses. Mercy is manifested through compassion,
forgi,·eness, caring and humility. Thus, marriage in Islan1 is
a bove all a partnership based on mercy between the partners.
In Isla n1, lack of mercy in a n1arriage or a family renders it
dysfu nct ional.

In order to keep this mercy intact, the mandate to practice a

non-adversa ria l dispu te resolution system has been gh·en
in t he . Holy .Ouran . For example, while discussing
the
pr<'I Prcnec·f
1
or a consensual method of di orce (talaq), the
Iloly .(/ 11·1111 has eom m cnted on harmonious reconciliation
<i nd d1(·t<1 t<·s:

JO
 ·1 1icoric'> ;mrl J J< ..ctop1111:n1
· ,'1nd'· f Jf'
;\cccs to Juc..ttc.:t: '
,..,.0 them ( th , rrrn n ;1n<] hi· w ,
ht t w
al
•'t('
If vou fNJ f
family .,ri:> '"" . . ) <f ' .....fJrr>n1 hi<; ;1h< C·lI t
JJ' ,"'' J
u ,
• • ,.i t ra l ()J S , ' , . J lJl'·t
n1>P()Jnl I ( t h \'\.i 'ih fr> f v;a<.:.<.:, A llr1h w ill '"J \
cJ J 1)J f L
·' · j tiH.:)"
JJ ""' I' "
(r()in h er s, ·1··t i< n (A l ()uPJ fl 4 . ;,).
their rc:cnnc1 J d J . ..
,. nciliati<JD is fu rther affJ rrn <.:d:
The im p()rt a ncc of rec() .. . .
'd\'CS and ma kes rccon c1hat10n, h is ff '.W·u ,1
V\Thoevcr for
:.. . h Al la Vcri1v He lJ'kcs not t hc Zull ,. . ' "
mun
b
h
JS \.\ 'J t • . ,
_,J opp r e ssors and wrong d oers). (Al Qu ran 42 :40)
faj,At) der international instruments
(a}- arter of the United Nations
cle of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter)
3 3
dea;s ,,v it h peacefu l settlement of international
disputes. According to this article:
• The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is
likely to endanger the maintenance of international
peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution
by negotiation, enqui ry, mediation, conciliation,
arbitration, jud icial settlement, resort to regional
agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of
their own choice.
• The Se ;u rity Council shall, when it deems
necessary, call upon the parties to settle their
dispute by such
means.
Therefore, UN Charter has a mandate to settle
international disputes through a non-adversarial
dispute resolut· process.
ther international instruments
esides.the UN Cha er, other international have
the option t settle international disputes different
·ADR te.chn1ques. For example, fl.. the
I nternatzona l Convention on Civil and. 'fW
 11 f tt t i 11111 111

1 \11 1 1

-
JI. Pl1RPOSES <>F ACC;ESS 1'<> ,J lJS'l'ICE
- - - -

'l h cn;1gli flcliolt1r:-.; havf ' c l<·fi11r·d 'ju st i ce' fron1

different 1 •\vpoi ulH (K,·f :-1 ·11 ''OC H >) just ic<', in cncral, has
an inherent rne.1ning of 1,ei 11g f ;1il' a11d equ i ta h l (•.
Therefore, the purpose of JC ·'H'-• lojus t i c(' is 111f.1ir ily lwo
fold:
• / ti,.sl llJ , to en su re t h at people have physical
;1c.;c<:ss t o t he ex ist ing justice delivery
system (A( ,-A ;J) 009) such as cou rt,
tribunal, or ol h •r· infonn a l foru rns
dcli\'cring justice; and
• .Secontll11, hnl eq ua lly i1n portantly, to en
ure t hat t he p )opl c''8 just ice delivery s "t
m l'llHllf t'H f a i r :1 11d equ i t able justic :\
(Boull
l<><H> ,). J f t he just i 'l' dt'l ivcry systcn1 is not fair,
1r H·1·e pli yh i <':il :a eet·ss lo court. tribunal orn
ot h l'r j11Ht i ce 111Pcha ni:-in1s tnnv not n
ure '1· ·a l ' u cct·. lo just i rl'. .
I lowcvt• r, l hcr·,. <• I'" lwo conl l'St ed vie\\rs th
/(.,,·,·11<•.-.,•. .. ,,/ WJ,., 'J • · r st·I1oIars are
,·,,.,11°('"'• 11 an .v.
 ' I 'I
I('
I . I
I 1 1 1•1 v-1: 1 "1• ,,, • "• •II. ' I
I " I,,I I I
)
I II '''"'
I
')
II II' I
111 t rud111 1 ' ' JI I I '
II 1
• 11 ,V1·1o1 f
J JI
11111
1 ,f
' !\ I I 1 1
Il J lf lf J V1 j ' •nf t d //IJ}i
:111< I "' IJl'I ""''' ''' •'" I• I( 1('''1 ' ,, ,,,,,,, l' l . ,I,ll'''fl C/ i l'
I

'" Ir
f J ,t.;A /\ :-. u:.11:.J , 1 1.,. W'• 1v•I •. , , '< t ,1 ,f v, n i:d l !h't1• ,, , J
W' I J ' ,, ; ,, I .
d''\ < 'l''I"'" •:i11d d1·v,.l1 I' }',
I I I J1 J JI'J j :i1,,,
l '( > l l " 'S f ;d 1·11d( l '1 ,,
t t' "
'l > q J
' '"' cl1·v<' l u p111v, ''011111 1·j,.,, t i • • i ,, i lJ,. W<11 l d . f 11 JJ l '>'.t ' f
. 1· . l , ' W.iv 1• , I !\ I >J >
J ll < JC'1;1 J (·f u r 111 f 1 1111 k d I y I ' ' t.wt • i,t tJ u ,11·1\ 1
> , '>I H 11 ' '1l 1J Jl 1•i ,, ( r ,,
:l<> JJ ) 111 B:11w J:1d<·· Ji i iich , . ' · iJ:t·. ;u,d ll:uu
i n i t i:ll ,·d i11 '. 'c oo :,·,·., di P '."J ('''l lf i PCJ J}U lt11 11.1· 1\ 1 >1' W'i'
·/·\ . ,·
• • " •1 1 •t t1 ''·''t1• i•,j, 11 011 1
' >
1
o/ A l>R 111 B:1 11n hd,..• J i J 1•1, , I . 1h • lf1tJ ,,cl1J< t ion
t J1 i:.; hook h ' ' ' , ,.., H't'f l f fJ('Uf J j ' I I '111
. < H '-' ,., < J1(1J1tct :$ of

Tho11glt
• •
;il l lhn:<· w·t '
v''" ,
" 1 ' 111c t 1eve•1oprnc·n t c,f
.111st 1<·<· h ad rep Tc11::t-·d1>11H f or t h . . 1· ···I :1C(;(L', ')
l '· ,,, I J I <: J U< I CJ tl ',yhtCtJI H1
>.t l1g d< < 'S J , lllH.<.!I' If 1< •'111'1' 'I l · S< ' o-cc·ono1n1·c r cc1l ity qf the
ci
l
c·ot1nl ry, I ie IInn! wav . of A DJ{ SClt n1cd to h<' H t
<'fl <'<' I ive n1<·cf w 11is111 t u ensure accc s to J't1st1' c'·' t c .., ·1 ic rno,s
'f 'IlollgJ l t J' H· f.. 1rsl \\!a vc of . lct'a l • •ai d is• pr't''fl·<.,.,J
... , I s p'.;.<> p
, <. • <;.
. ,... " "" "' d ) d
I
con1p e11H·11 t :1ry f < 1 , c11h an cc ucccss justice t h r<> ugh
re · to
J\ l )H , t h e ap>IJ <': l10!1 '!f t h second wave of access t <> justi ce
t l1roug'1 PlL 1s st il l l1r 111t cc.l 1n Ba ngladesh.

P.:.·.f.: CGNITION OF T -f 14:RIG11"1' ro ACCESS TO

j ':,,,· :., · • •. JUSTICE
(1 ss to j ust i ce u n der the
Constitution of IJ< l ad csh
'I'h e righ t to <lccess to justice has been emphasir <l i
n d i ffcrcn t a rt icles of t he Constitution of Bangladesh \vhich
is t h e Su pre111e l nv of t he land:!. Article 27 of the
Constitution

.
·· 1\ rlick 7( 2 ) of lhl: Cnnst i t u t ion nf Bangladcsh provided that. "Tl11s const11111wn.
/ i.'/ rl1<' w1/e 11111 t'X/ 1rt:s.,itJ11 of 1//e u ill of the people tlte S11preme /Oll 1
0
:he
N l'/ J11hl1t ·anti 1/ t1111·01/!er lull ,,111u111.4' iste111 u uh tl11s Const11uuon that other (flt'

slut!/. to th<' c ' f t 'l11 of tl1t 111cn11,!\ h'l1C\'. he \'otd "

1

24
 ,,,, ,

icle 411 I' oro

 Acee()<; to Just ice·and A DR: an overview

provides the scope to form a 'Conciliation Commission·4

with the consent of the States' Pa rties as one of the modes of
dispute settlement 'amicably' behveen/among then1.
.Article
42(1) states:
If a matter referred to the Committee in accordance \\ith
article 41 is not resolved to the satisfaction of the States
Parties concerned, the Committee may, \\ith the prior
consent of the States Parties concerned, appoint an ad
hoc Conciliation Commission (hereinafter referred to as
the Commission ). The good offices of the
Commission shall be made available to the States
Parties concerned
with a view to an amicable solution of the matter on the
basis of respect for the present Covenant.
Article 42(7) further explains:
When the Commission has fully considered the
matter, but in any ·event not later than
twelv.e months after having been seized of the
maer, t shall submit to the Chairman of the
Comm1tte a report for communication to the
States Parties
concerned .

.iThe Com mission shall consist of five persons acceptable to the

States Parti_es concerned. If the States Parties concerned fail to reach
agreement w1th m th ree months on all or part of the composition of the
Commission, t he n1ernbers of the Commission concerning whom no
agreement has been reached shall be elected by secret ballot by a
two-thirds majority
vote of the Committee from among its members [Art.42(l)(b)).
The mem bers of the Commission shall serve in their personal
capacity.They shall not be nationals of the States Parties
concerned.or of a State not
party to the present Covenant, or of a Slates Party whic;b bas not
a declaration under article 41 . [Art.42(2)). The Commi shllll
elo:l itS
own Chai
mem rman
bers of and adopt itsand
the Committee, own rules
of the adofhoc .4-2(.3) Jlae
which may be appointed under article 42.shall
b.e . '.'
..·
J at· , .
, Il l

...
,.. _.._ _ -- 4 rntSSIOft 1\11:
 18 Access to J usticc and A D.R

in tcn1at ional h;vcls. The ex i stence of con fl ict and dispute

presu ppose t he ex i stence of di spute resol ution process also.
Dispu te resol u tion process rnay be d i vided into two broad
. 8
catcgoncs :
(i) Comm u nity in itiative;
(ii) Legal process.

Location of ADR in Dispute Resolution Process

ispute Resolution

Formal way Informal way

(Adjudication) Community Initiative

Shalish
Negotiatio
ADR Litigatio n
n Mediation
Conciliati

Litigation ADR
Litigation

ADR Disposal

Dispo
,
sal

The above diagram shows that in a fonnal litigation ADR

may be a pre"condition of litigation. Jn such a case, a dispute
must pass through the stages of ADR before entering into
litigation. For instance, i n the U K there are mandatory provisions
 t\ ccc' t o .Iu t·i <:1.: and !\DR
.,.,,.... · an ovcrvic\\

-..(::.)/"j1--IJ J{ u n der n ational in s·t ru mcnts

.
.I n add i .t i on l t.o t he provisi ons. of A DR <l . d
111ter11a t 1 ona 1 nst run1cn ts h t scus se under
a · ' ' n un1 er of ·t ' \
ha,·" (l <l1rcct n1andat e t<) use d'f'f na iona 1 \,·s also
· l crent f 1 0f A a
)
con nsu al settlement of < rn s DR to attain
disputes.
For c.xa n1·plc,·z proYision for \Vas for in the
ADR
prov1·acd
.. usI·u c1( anu y !Jaw·s Ord inance i961 and .ln the
1. 1 n (MFLO)
J·.ar n z y ohurts Ordz .n ance 19s5 (FCO) dea1 \\ .th f. an11.1v
to
d isputcs .t . roau·gh diff erent forms prov1·s·1onsto.,,
ADR .
of
:cso lv c1v11 1sputes through ADR have been incorporated
i n sections 89A, 89B, 89C, 89D and 89E in the Code of Civil
Proced ure (Amend ment) Act 2003 (Act IV of 2003) Code of
Civil Proced ure (Amend ment) Act 2006 (Act Vlll f 2006),
and Code of Civil Proced ure (Amend ment) Act 2012 (Act
XXXVI of 2012) respectively. Further, ADR provisions
haYe a lso been placed in section 210 of the Labour Act
2006 (Act X LI I of 2006). Recently, ADR is also included
in the resolut ion of Income tax disputes. A new Chapter
namely
'Altern ative Dispute Resolution' from sections s2F to 152S
has b<en inserted in the I ncome Tax Ordmance 1984
(Ordi n ance XXXVI of 1984) through an amendment of
the
Finowe A ct 2011 ( Act XII of 2011).
· ·· f DR · f mal court many other
Bes· i d e·s thes... e prov1s· 1ons o A · · ns to practi.ce
i.n· or
11c1t provisto
laws i n Ba n(1J
n
adesh have ·
expd. t s (see Chapter )
q11usi-form al ADR in rcsoh10g1spu e ,
 I..this negon'8uuu, ..,- h;- her tneu·,._---
benefits. Therefore, the en X gets his maxium
benefit, will be the benefit of Y. aximum. An
optimum output
the benefit of Y Will.alo hieved
15
at the win-win position
for principled ?egoaation f he diagram· A no-win
position of the upJ>e:r r1gt corhneXr 0 d y decide to
avoid the dispute
can
and be attained 1f own
bot .interest.
an

1*
sacrifice their

-am111>jUliiiMIR•l•U1HtiU®
1
•
(1)Planning and analysis
The first and foremost objective of an effective
negotiator is to plan his/her negotiation agenda (Spencer
2?05). For example, if the negotiator doc;s !1ot have a
cJe:ir idea.what he/she will argue for in negotiation or
what will be his/her minimum and maximum demand
in negotiation, she/he might not obtain the best outcome
through negotiation.
(2)Exchanging information
Effective exchange of information helps a mediator to
understand the interests of his/her counterpart and
accordingly generate bis/her options to get a better
outcome through negotiation (Spencer 2005).
(3) Concession and compromise
In principled negotiation, negotiators always have to
a fice a. art to attain a consensual outcome. Holding
the in1t1a1position may not provide any outcome.
(4) Reaching agreement

=:b
outcome. Therefore a
:o_n ;ot
·n
is o dbate or refute
ctti ;1n ohaelctive ts to attain
an oriented. ' a or 8 l always be
object
 Mediation : Aspects and
Process

universal definition for mediation . Mediation means

different things to different people" (Wellik 1999, p.258).
NADRAC defines a mediator as a 'neutral third party' and the
term 'neutral' to mean that:
The mediator has no advisory or determinative role in
regard to the content of the dispute or the outcome of
its resolution, but may advise on or determine the
process of mediation whereby resolution is attempted .
According to Rifkin, Millen, and Cobb (1991), neutrality
consists of two elements:
The concept of impartiality (the mediator does not have
any vested feelings, values or agendas) and the concept of
equidistance (the ability of the mediator to help all sides of
the dispute to express their views equally without
suppression) (cited in Taylor 2002, p. 172).
Therefore, neutrality can vary from 'strict' neutrality to
'expanded' neutrality. Thus, an alternative definition of
mediation allows mediators to provide advice that may help
parties to reach an informed solution that will not be
regretted later. For example, a mediator may inform parties
about legal provisions on any issue of their dispute and also
the extra time and cost that a party may need in getting
such outcome through a court decree.
Admitting a mediator's advisory role in mediation, as
explained by the National Mediation Accreditation
System (NMAS 2007, p.6) of Australia:
Some mediators may also use a blended process that
involves mediation and incorporates an advisory
component, or a process that involves the provision of
expert information and advice, whre it enhances the
decision-making of the participants provided that the
participants agree that such
advice can be p:1"ovided. Such process may be defined as 0
'evaluative medianpn,.
....."°mg(li ox m ·
4is·on :..a·;'"':....;:...'"" ..._...
 M J ·:I )I A'I 'l (j ', ,i
J\ .._• 1•1··( I 4..; A N U ..H t H .I··• • ·
I w
I . , ' )

• D IN ION
. d pnrticulorly its ·rncrgcnt t a a
The history of .d ?
111 mtaon,t' in the Wc•st<•rn world
J 1 '
alternative to 1t1ga ton · · ·
popu nr f f fncilitntive process.' Mcdm t1on 1 fl
rsolution where two parties negotiat e to
suppo rt s / outcoinc to resolve their dispute, with t he
h' ·os <·
s c:
help :U ithe ofpart):mediator
of n third .who facilitates a!1d o rIR
n1cdiu t1on. . It 1s ?cfind
as the .etc t ion . of
process
n1cdinting between parties at var1oncc . However, 1n omc
of
its recent interpretations, mediation also al1ows a mediator to
take nn interventionist role or to "intercede on behalf of
another"'.:Jtt
The National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory
Committee of Australia (NADRAC) developed a definition of
mediation which identifies the four different steps that
pa rties go through to resolve their dispute through mediation.
defined by NADRAC (2006):
Mediation is a process in which the parties to a
dispute, with the assistance of a neutral third party
(the mediator) identify the disputed tssues, develop
options consider' alternatives and endeavour to reach
an agreemnt.
o\ ever, the natu e assitance that a mediator may
rovide to the parties 111 ation is still a debated issue
rooker & Wilkinson go10, p.g). "There is no
accepted

Ponns andf'Utict ons"(1971)

OM
 A. DEFIN ITION
Ttw Macquarie Dictionary (Macmillan 2012) defines
ncgotin tion as 'mutual discussion and arrangement of tile
terms of a t ransaction or ag reement'. According to M..
Anstey (2005), negotiation is:
A verbal interactive process involving two or more parties:
I. Who are seeking to reach agreement;
II. Over a problem or conflict of interest between
them; and
III. . In whichthey seek as far as possible to
preserve their interests, but to adjust their
views and positions in the joint effort to
achieve agreement.

B. A PPROACll ESTO N EGOTI ATION

(t) Adversarial negotiation
This is characterized by parties seeking to maximize
victory. In ad\'crsarial negotiation, if one party gains
something (e.g. one dollar), the other party looses the
same. For this reason, adversarial negotiation is
sometimes termed as 'zero-sum' negotiation (Spencer
2005) Other terms used to denote adversarial negotiation
includes 'positional negotiation', 'competitive negotiation',
'distributive bargaining' or the 'gamethtJo.ey
of.peg9,tition' (SpEmcer 2005).
Posttionlil b be more effective when atties
may 11.af atinue future re'\$nship.For
aample a bl1J8? aliit1 •• tte
 A. WHAT ISADR?
Many Scholarsbelieve that ADR is evolving as an
'alternative' to the legal system. However, inclusion of
different ADR mechanisms does not replace the court
system; rather strengthens and'further legitimates the
formal judicial system ' (Anleu 2000, p.131).
For a better understanding of this
complementary relationship, the term 'ADR' need to be
further defined.
(1) The meaning of 'Alternative' in ADR
In the case of ADR, the term 'Alternative' can involve several
aspects. Unlike the formal court system ADR involves non
adversarial attitudes from the parties when they
commu nicate with eS'Ch other to find solutions (Stintzing
1994). Further, in contrast to a la\vyer dominating
adversarial system where lawyers control the content of a
dispute, ADR provides parties with an opportunity to
effectively control the content of their dispute.
However, the term 'alternative' in ADR needs to be
understood as an additional mea ns to accessjustic e, not as a
means which may replace the traditional court system
(Stintzing 1994). For an effective judicial system both
ADR an adversarial system are complementary and
strengthen each other. Furthermore, a court system prevails
when any of the modes of ADR may fail to resolve a
dispute.
(2)Tbe meaning of 'Dispute'in ADR
Disputes bet\veen parties my aris regarding the
differenc
in their opinions on their rig and responsibilities to
·eae