Mediation 3.0: Merging The Old and The New

Abstract

This is a published transcription of the 2017 Singapore Mediation Lecture delivered in Singapore (at Singapore Management University) in 2017. The lecture provides a brief overview of a world history of mediation (1.0-Ancient Mediation through the early arguments for ADR; Mediation 2.0-distortions of mediation-lite, no joint meeting mediation and mandatory mediation, spread of mediation throughout legal cultures, use of hybrids and scaling up mediation to larger disputes and conflicts; to Mediation 3.0, use of technology in dispute resolution, with advantages and disadvantages, public and private sector uses; need for process pluralism and issues of accountability, justice, confidentiality, privatization, security, access, crowdsourced problem solving, fairness, efficiency and fairness). As with all human advances in technology, there will be good uses and progress, as well as abuses and new problems to be solved. Methods of dispute resolution continue to evolve, with and without changes in law and legal institutions.