Introduction

Conflict or dispute is a common phenomenon in our day-to-day life. It can be settled or resolved

but new conflict or dispute can arise even after it is settled through a coordinated process such as

conflict or dispute resolution. However, Conflict cannot be eliminated forever from our lives, but

it can be minimized. [ CITATION For09 \l 1033 ] According to The Lawyers & Jurists, the

purposes of dispute resolution are diagnosing the root causes of disputes, transforming actual and

potential disputes into peaceful and positive processes, changing violent behavior and hostile and

creating a lively, congenial environment.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Two men glare at each other. Long-haired and bearded, their fur garments oily from

use, they hold gnarled clubs loosely at their sides. Emotions have been building since

the rainy season started and the river overflowed. Who will be forced to brave the

swollen river to hunt, and who will hunt near their village? Today it will be decided.

With war cries, the disputants raise their clubs and begin to circle. Suddenly an old man

appears, shouting: "Behold, the Deciding Stone!" The two men stop in midstride. The

old man says, "Ush, the smooth side is yours; Ore, the rough side is yours." The pair

hesitate, looking angrily at each other and at the old man, and finally they nod in

agreement. With all his might, the old man throws the stone into the air. Their heads

turn to the sky as they watch the stone turn over and over. [ CITATION Bar04 \l 1033 ]

This imagined story of prehistoric times illustrates that while humans have always had the

tendency to solve their differences by fighting, they also have recognized the benefits of settling

matters peacefully by flipping a coin or some other way. This quest for alternatives to violence
gave birth to the precursors of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). [ CITATION Bar04 \l

1033 ]

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a term used to describe a method of resolving disputes

without litigation meaning that settling a dispute by any means outside the courtroom. ADR

consists of a wide variety of dispute resolution mechanism such as negotiation, mediation,

conciliation and arbitration.

History

To track the earliest existence of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), we have to go back to

1800 B.C when Mari Kingdom (in modern Syria) tried to resolve its dispute with other kingdoms

by using mediation and arbitration. This dispute resolving through mediation and arbitration by

Mari Kingdom can be considered as the first example of ADR use in political matters.

Interesting fact is that ADR has its presence not only in political scopes but also in commercial,

cultural and social scopes. In 700 B.C. Rhodian Sea Law codified traditional rules for

determining liability for ship cargo losses and dispute resolution. Arbitration, called Panchayat,

was used in India in 500 B.C. [ CITATION Bar04 \l 1033 ]

From the early era of modern civilization when ADR was used in business, land disputes and

international relationship to 21st century when ADR started to take the form of modern

institutionalization, ADR has gained tremendous acceptance among general people and legal

profession. [ CITATION Moo14 \l 1033 ]