Abstract

Every civilized nation requires a system of justice in which aggrieved parties can obtain redress through the legal enforcement of their rights. Traditionally, litigation has served this purpose, satisfying the natural inclination of humans to settle disputes only under compulsion, even where dialogue or mutual agreement would serve adequately. This historical bias towards litigation is now giving way to consensual processes, principally mediation, as the first recourse in the settlement of these disputes. Consequently, in the field of environmental law, mediation is ...