Principles of Dispute Resolution

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Principles of Dispute Resolution in indigenous Australian Community

Abstract

The manner in which the indigenous population in the so called the aboriginal community are represented in the criminal justice system is bringing a lot of questions according to the Heather and Braithwaite1 The Aboriginal community is increasingly overrepresented and at the same time families are experiencing high levels of violence . Heather and Braithwaite argue that finding a solution of these issues is increasingly becoming hard and difficult particularly when indigenous people

become victims or offenders2 . This is also seen whenever they come into contact with the criminal justice system

The indigenous Australian community that is the Aboriginal community is cultural sensitive therefore making any attempt to help in dispute resolution among them and other parties become very complicated . For instance looking at the report that was produced by Queensland community justice program (CJP ) Aboriginal mediation project the year 1990 , it was discovered that the mediation process in dispute resolution on the indigenous community is rather in consistence to the cultural values of the people . This research therefore looks at the mediation principles and how they have been inconsistent to the cultural values of the society especially in resolving family violence . A conclusion is then drawn after coming up with alternative methods to mediation owing to the fact that the mediation process has failed in dispute resolution among the Aboriginal community of Australia

Introduction

Mediation process in the Aboriginal community in the Australia state according to the reports by the Queen community as mentioned above seem to very inconsistent therefore a lot of argument and debates have been raised on the effectiveness of the mediation3 . The communities are seen to be aligned on one side leading to proper implementation of the criminal justice system . This implies that the mediation process in the Aboriginal community is never cultural sensitive . The dispute resolution method practiced on indigenous community does not take into account the traditional values of the society (Moore , 2003 . The principles of mediation that are supposed to be observed by the commentators or mediators have not been followed . The indigenous community of the Australian state is very conservative as far as the culture is concerned and the mediation principles applied are not compatible with their values and culture4 .These principles include confidentiality voluntariness and neutrality

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the ability to make something become private5 . Boulle argues that mediation process will only be successful if and only if privacy and confidentiality of what is being said in the mediation process is kept close / private . This is contrary to the aboriginal community where the community leads a unique life . Kinship is still observed making it hard to make things confidential

The communal way of life may not allow for privacy . The family members who are involved in the conflict are expected to interact with the mediator prior in to have some knowledge on the issue and seek for favoritism (Nolan , 1993

Mediation should actually be...