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Public Policy Articles
What's New
(6/06/08)
Keith Seat
Australian Supreme and County Courts will be able to send cases to mediation for the first time in a pilot project being started in Victoria, which will include large commercial disputes. Based on a Canadian model, senior judges will be involved to give the mediation process their imprimatur. The project is allocated A$3.7 million in the current budget package for the judicial system. In addition, the budget includes a A$5.8 million expansion of the mediation program in Magistrate Court and A$6.2 million to expand alternative dispute resolution regionally in Victoria.
The Age (May 4, 2008)
Appeasement and Diplomacy: When There is a Tempest in a Teapot, Keep Your Eye on the Teapot! (5/27/08)
Peter Adler George Bush recently visited Israel on the occasion of its 60th birthday and, in a speech to the Knesset, put forward thinly veiled criticisms of Barack Obama suggesting that his willingness to negotiate with Iran and Syria is the “false comfort of appeasement.” Out on the campaign trail, John McCain chimed right in. “The President is exactly right.” Various Democrats instantly fired back. Joe Bidden called the president’s comments “bullshit.” Hillary Clinton (rising to Obama’s defense) said Bush and McCain failed to understand the distinction between appeasement and diplomacy. Well, what is the difference between appeasement and diplomacy?
Mediación: un aporte a la transformación de las relaciones sociales (5/08/08)
Alejandro M. Nató, Liliana María Carbajal, María Gabriela Rodríguez Querejazu Esta nota enuncia algunas de las ideas desarrolladas en el libro: Mediación Comunitaria. Conflictos en el escenario social urbano (México, Universidad de Sonora-Centro Internacional de Estudios Sobre Democracia y Paz Social, 2005); Alejandro Nató, María Gabriela Rodríguez Querejazu y Liliana Carbajal.
(5/07/08)
Keith Seat Florida’s Open Government Mediation Program began in the early 1990s with the Attorney General’s office acting as an intermediary to assist requesters in getting access to documents or meetings of government agencies, rather than agencies spending substantial resources fighting public access. The process was so successful that it was enacted by the state in 1996 and grew to over 120 cases per year. However, Florida’s current Attorney General has not made the program a priority and top-level turnover has resulted in a one-third reduction in the cases being handled, raising concern among media groups. However, Attorney General McCollum stated that the mediation process has been very successful and will continue.
Orlando Sentinel (March 16, 2008)
(5/07/08)
Keith Seat The governor of Minnesota is encouraging voluntary mediation in response to high levels of home foreclosures and as a further step after foreclosure counseling programs. Under the program, Minnesota agencies are to offer grants to pay for mediation if counseling has not resolved the issues, but a home-saving deal may still be possible.
Post-Bulletin (April 16, 2008)
(4/23/08)
Keith Seat
Litigation has been filed claiming that property insurers deliberately failed to inform Florida policyholders that they can seek mediation for hurricane claims, allegedly saving the insurance industry $400 million in mediation and extra claims settlement costs. The case was brought on behalf of a homeowner against the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of Financial Services, alleging that the agencies allowed insurers to ignore their obligations to offer mediation. While class action certification is not being sought, plaintiff’s counsel hopes the state agencies will become more diligent in enforcing the mediation notification requirement. The agencies dispute the claims, stating that they do focus on getting homeowners with insurance disputes into mediation.
Orlando Sentinel (April 3, 2008)
Review of Eye of the Storm Leadership by Peter Adler (4/21/08)
John Sautelle If you want a thought-provoking, engaging and at times inspirational read then this is the book for you! As it turns out, this book is not about leadership generally – it focuses specifically on leadership in the context of conflict.
La proteccion de la confidencialidad en la mediacion (4/15/08)
Walter A. Wright La importancia de la confidencialidad en la mediación no puede ser subestimada. En la mediación, el mediador cuenta con la confidencialidad como una herramienta esencial. En la introducción, el mediador asegura a los participantes la confidencialidad del proceso para crear una "zona de tranquilidad" y ayudar a la expresión franca de sentimientos e intereses. Más tarde en el proceso, el mediador alienta a los participantes a generar ideas y opciones para la solución del conflicto.
La mediación para una comunidad participativa (3/31/08)
Juan Carlos Vezzulla Los años dedicados a la práctica de la mediación en diversos contextos y, fundamentalmente, las exigencias enfrentadas en la formación de mediadores en diferentes países (nada mejor que enseñar para aprender) me llevaron a reconocer la necesidad de construir un marco teórico referencial que sustentase la mediación, su filosofía y práctica, y que marcase principios básicos que permitiesen diferenciarla de la conciliación y de todo un abanico de prácticas extendidas por el mundo bajo el nombre de mediación sin respeto a su base científica, filosófica, ética y profesional.
Ten Questions on Leadership for Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama (3/24/08)
Peter Adler The U.S. presidential run-up is a time to think about politics, conflict and leadership. The collective challenges we face -- balancing freedom and security, maintaining economic and environmental sustainability, educating our young people, and assuring the health of those who cannot take care of themselves -- crisscross all sorts of historic borders, jurisdictions, and purviews. Making headway on these challenges will necessarily be a team sport.
How will Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama approach them? Imagine for a moment that we could engage all three candidates in an extended dialogue that goes beyond the sound bites and platform promises we have grown too accustomed to. Here is what I would ask:
Barack Obama’s Speech on Race (3/19/08)
Barack Obama We find Barack Obama's speech on race to be a top flight example of the kind of mature consideration our most divisive issues deserve and need. We here present the text of Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race in Philadelphia.
(3/18/08)
Keith Seat
A full two-thirds of federal bankruptcy courts now have mediation programs in place and encourage use by the parties. The details of the court mediation programs differ, but most depend on voluntary participation by parties, even though the courts generally have authority to mandate mediation if necessary. Some bankruptcy courts have been offering mediation since the 1980s and the number of courts with programs continues to increase. The level of success has generally been high, with mediation of over 3,700 matters from one court since the program began in 1995, for example, and a settlement rate of 64 percent.
CommunityDispatch.com (February 28, 2008)
(3/18/08)
Keith Seat
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was the last federal appellate court to begin a mediation program, but in just two years is showing results in line with other circuit programs, despite the complexity of its specialized docket, which includes patent appeals. Last year the Federal Circuit’s mediation program resolved 42% of the cases mediated.
The National Law Journal (February 11, 2008) (Subscription Required)
Introduction to Eye of the Storm Leadership (3/17/08)
Peter Adler In the vast galaxy of leadership practices, the 150 ideas that follow focus on making deals, brokering agreements, and managing the inevitable conflicts that occur in politically charged circumstances. They are about communication, negotiation, problem solving, and “guerilla peace making.” The premise is simple and was best stated by philosopher, psychologist, and educator John Dewey: “Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity and sets us at noting and contriving."
The Guerrilla vs. The Humanist Negotiator (3/09/08)
Robert Benjamin This provocative article discusses and contrasts a hard-edged approach to negotiation with the recalcitrant Iranian administration that is in stark contrast to the more prevalent view of negotiation as a humanistic and rational enterprise. This goes to the heart of how negotiation and mediation are practiced, not just on a geopolitical level, but in all dispute contexts.
Primer decenio de la conciliacion extrajudicial en el Peru, problemas y propuestas de cambio (2/26/08)
Rafael Gonzalo Medina Rospigliosi La conciliación extrajudicial es un medio de solución de conflictos, por el cual un tercero neutral e imparcial denominado Conciliador Extrajudicial asiste a las partes a encontrar su propia solución a sus conflictos que es mas humana, saludable, justa, durable, mutuamente satisfactoria y con el mismo valor de sentencia inapelable, es una poderosa herramienta de tercera generación para solucionar conflictos.
Obama’s Message - Mediation’s Political Triumph (2/25/08)
James Melamed Presidential candidate Barack Obama's main political message represents the absorption of the mediation movement's essential themes at the highest level of national and global politics. This is an accomplishment that should not go unnoticed and one that all mediators, whatever our political leanings, should take great pride in. Obama's candidacy is mediative consciousness' coming out party. Could it be that our work is finally paying off, not only in terms of "miracles in the mediation room," but also in terms of truly improving the way we as humans operate on planet earth? I think so. We are experiencing a popular paradigm shift right before our eyes and mediators and mediative thought are largely responsible.
La Mediación en el Ámbito Escolar: ¿Método RAC o Método REC? (2/24/08)
Ruben Veiga Las instituciones educativas tampoco escapan a las situaciones de conflicto; muy por el contrario deberán, si aún no lo han hecho –a partir de la nueva concepción de escuela moderna- capitalizar el conflicto y educar a partir del mismo. Ello significa que todos los actores de la comunidad (léase: educadores y educandos, no docentes y familias de los alumnos) deben esforzarse por abandonar la connotación negativa tradicional del conflicto y optar por su cambio de valencia. Sólo así, la tan anhelada “educación para la paz”, será posible.
Wonks, Shamans, Warriors, Dealmakers & The Protean Leader (2/20/08)
Robert Benjamin History may record the current presidential campaign as a turning point in how we think about leadership, choose a leader, and approach complex issues and difficult conflicts in the Twenty-First Century. The candidates present an interesting juxtaposition of leadership styles that is seldom so apparent. John McCain is the classic warrior, Hillary Clinton is the pragmatic, technical, problem-solving wonk, and Barack Obama has cornered the role of the moral/inspirational shaman.
Managing The Rozpuda Valley Dispute In Poland: The Imperative For A Third Party Mediation (2/01/08)
Emmy Irobi This paper examines the imperative of a "third party" facilitated mediation (Palmer,and Roberts 1998) in resolving the contentious and seemingly value-laden dispute of the Rozpudy valley in Augustowa, Eastern part of Poland. Arguing in favor of a pragmatic and constructive dialogue, as an effective way to resolve the current stand-off between the State government and the environmentalists groups in the country. It will conclude by emphasizing that only a change of policy based on consensus building through dialogue process will help to promote good relationships, restore strained communication links and prevent further escalation of future environmental disputes.
Environmental Mediation Clauses in International Legal Mechanisms (1/31/08)
Christina Simokat Mediation has been shown to be effective in thousands of domestic environmental dispute cases in the US, Israel and Europe since the 1970s. As a dispute resolution alternative to adjudication, mediation can create more equitable, implementable outcomes with lower transaction costs. While there are still very few international environmental disputes submitted to adjudication or any type of formal dispute resolution, a small number of international environmental legal instruments have set the stage for use of mediation for these issues. This article discusses the common types of dispute resolution alternatives and the changing definition of mediation and its international use. The author looks at which international environmental treaties address mediation and examines how it would be implemented, and considers the future trends in international environmental mediation.
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