Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

To Sue Is Human; To Settle Divine: Intercultural Collaborations To Expand The Use Of Mediation In Costa Rica, Donald C. Peters

Don Peters

Virtually all societies have developed non-adjudicative methods to resolve disputes. Third party intervention to help resolve disputes consensually, typically called mediation or conciliation, occurs in all cultures throughout the world. It now occurs in Costa Rica only voluntarily and primarily in family, community, labor, agricultural, and trade contexts. Connecting mediation or conciliation to court systems provides a comparatively new use of third party interventions not involving adjudication through arbitration or litigation. This typically occurs by referring matters for mediation services provided by state-funded programs, private centers, and private mediators. Florida, the first American state to authorize courts to order mediation …