This book asks why justice is important to both individuals and to society as a whole. A number of justice questions are raised to evaluate whether mediation can deliver social, distributive, procedural or substantive justice and fairness.
Focusing on a scrutiny of mediation in the context of justice, the book covers social justice and justice issues posed by confidentiality, bias, lack of fairness and Online Dispute Resolution. Discussing whether mediation can truly deliver justice to all, the book identifies areas where this fails, and provides solutions and suggestions to improve it. The dangers of private justice, bias, mandatory mediation and the side lining of the importance of fairness in the resolution of disputes are all considered. In contrast, the positive aspects of mediation are added to the balance.
The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of conflict resolution, law, and social science. Readers will also be found among mediators and people interested in justice and the civil justice system.
Introduction
1. Justice
2. The Rise of Mediation
3. The Crisis in Civil Justice
4. Social Justice and Mediation
5. Mediator Influence
6. Confidentiality
7. Bias in Mediation
8. Voluntary Mediation?
9. Fairness: A Mediation Value?
10. Online Dispute Resolution and Justice
11. Concluding Thoughts
Biography
Penelope McRedmond is a lawyer and mediator, qualifying first as a lawyer in the UK and later in New York State. She has spent the last thirty years lecturing in law and mediation, most recently in Conflict and Dispute Resolution Studies at Trinity College Dublin. She has also written and published on a number of legal topics, most recently on Mediation Law.
