The Dynamic Conception of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Abstract

One could hardly contest that the English (and to a lesser extent other) language publications on alternative dispute resolution have significantly increased during the last few decades. This applies primarily to international commercial arbitration, though mediation – perhaps domestic rather than international – seems to have caught up lately as well. No matter whether books written by arbitrators or mediators are at stake, however, they suffer from a weakness this paper would like to focus upon: the static picture they present.

The article vouches for a shift from a static to a dynamic perception of alternative dispute resolution for the 21st century. Contrary to what intuition would dictate, however, such a shift would require more than just adding a few more pages to the introductory, evolution-related parts of these works. The task would be rather to create a picture that would emphasize the presence of dynamic forces constantly reshaping the contours of ADR; both internally and externally. The paper, by no means a complete account of the topic, aims to cast a novel light on some of the entrenched assumptions characteristic to the ADR law by putting forward a number of historical and contemporary illustrations.

Keywords: Alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, mediation, comparative law