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Arbitration and Mediation Information
Arbitration
Arbitration, in the context of law, is a form of alternative
dispute resolution — specifically, a legal alternative to litigation whereby the
parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through
agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s) or arbiter(s))
for resolution.
Arbitration may also serve a distinct purpose: as an alternative to strikes and
lockouts as a means of resolving labor disputes. Labor arbitration comes in two
varieties: interest arbitration, which provides a method for resolving disputes
about the terms to be included in a new contract when the parties are unable to
agree, and grievance arbitration', which provides a method for resolving
disputes over the interpretation and application of a collective bargaining
agreement.
Mediation
Mediation is a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral
third party, the mediator, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an
agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest; lato sensu is
any activity in which an agreement on any matter is researched by an impartial
third party, usually a professional, in the common interest of the parties
involved.
Mediation applies to different fields, with some common peculiar elements and
some differences, for each of its specialties. The main fields of mediation are
commerce, legal dispute and diplomacy, but forms of mediation can be found in
other fields as well. Mediation in marriage is technically admitted in the
category, although it follows its own peculiar history since the times of
ancient Greeks.
The activity in itself is indeed very ancient, presumably started with
Phoenician commerce (but its use is supposed in Babylon, too), and developed in
Greece (where the mediator is called proxenetas - not in the sense of marriage
mediator), then in Roman civilization, where mediation is recognized in Roman
law starting from Justinian's Digest. In Rome the mediator was called with a
variety of names, including internuncios, medium, intercessor, philantropus,
interpolator, conciliator, interlocutor, interpres, and finally mediator. During
the Middle Ages, mediation was considered differently, sometimes forbidden, or
its practice restricted to centralized authorities. In some cultures, it was
instead a sacred figure, tributed a particular respect, partly coincident with
that of traditional wise men.
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