The Kpelle Moot: A Therapeutic Model for the Informal Settlement of Disputes

Africa ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Gibbs

Opening ParagraphAfrica as a major culture area has been characterized by many writers as being -marked by a high development of law and legal procedures. In the past few years research on African law has produced a series of highly competent monographs such as those on law among the Tiv, the Barotse, and the Nuer. These and related shorter studies have focused primarily on formal processes for the settlement of disputes, such as those which take place in a courtroom, or those which are, in some other way, set apart from simpler measures of social control. However, many African societies have informal, quasi-legal, dispute-settlement procedures, supplemental to formal ones, which have not been as well studied, or—in most cases—adequately analysed.

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra P. Steger

For several years, there has been a tension between differing philosophies of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) dispute settlement. Commentators have taken different views on whether the system was fundamentally based on an arbitration or a judicial model. The Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Annex II to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement), represents the first extensive, negotiated agreement revitalizing the dispute settlement system in the history of the General Agreement. It represents nothing less than a complete reform of the GATT dispute settlement system. What is remarkable is that it is the product of extensive multilateral negotiations. In the past, modifications were made to the system on an incremental, case-by-case basis. Since the GATT came into existence in 1948, Articles XXII and XXIII have formed the basis of the dispute settlement mecha-nism. They are very sparse provisions, and most of the procedures that have come to characterize the pre-WTO GATT system have evolved over time as a result of experience in specific cases. Some of these procedural improvements were codified in Decisions and Understandings negotiated at various points in GATT history, but none were as comprehensive as the DSU.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Giesela Rühl

The past sixteen years have witnessed the proliferation of international commercial courts around the world. However, up until recently, this was largely an Asian and a Middle Eastern phenomenon. Only during the past decade have Continental European countries, notably Germany, France and the Netherlands, joined the bandwagon and started to create new judicial bodies for international commercial cases. Driven by the desire to attract high-volume commercial litigation, these bodies try to offer international businesses a better dispute settlement framework. But what are their chances of success? Will more international litigants decide to settle their disputes in these countries? In this essay, I argue that, despite its recently displayed activism, Continental Europe lags behind on international commercial courts. In fact, although the various European initiatives are laudable, most cannot compete with the traditional market leaders, especially the London Commercial Court, or with new rivals in Asia and the Middle East. If Continental Europe wants a role in the international litigation market, it must embrace more radical change. And this change will most likely have to happen on the European––not the national––level.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-298
Author(s):  
D.G. FILCHENKO ◽  
E.A. EVTUKHOVICH

The article analyzes the provisions of the arbitration procedural legislation and the practice of its application on a different pre-trial dispute settlement procedure established by the contract. A different pre-trial procedure is considered as an alternative to the general claim procedure for resolving disputes. The characteristic features of a different pre-trial order have been revealed. The authors summarized the practice of arbitration courts, highlighting other demanded pre-trial dispute settlement procedures. In particular, examples of atypical other methods of dispute settlement are provided. Separately, the issue of the admissibility of the cancellation of the general claim procedure for the settlement of disputes by the agreement was considered. An independent subject of the authors’ analysis was mediation as a pre-trial dispute settlement procedure. The work also focuses on the impact of a different pre-trial dispute settlement procedure on the course of the limitation period. The article discusses the provisions of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 22 June 2021 No. 18 “On Some Issues of Pre-Trial Settlement of Disputes Considered in Civil and Arbitration Proceedings”. Some of the recommendations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation received critical assessment. The authors note the existing contradictions in the legislation and possible ways to overcome them, formulate individual conclusions as a result of studying the materials of the practice of arbitration courts.


Literator ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Viljoen ◽  
E. Hentschel

In this article the rationale of this special issue is provided and the different contributions are introduced. The assumption is that there are strong similarities between the recent political and social transitions in South Africa and Germany and the reactions, both emotional and literary, of the people involved. Broadly, the transitions are described as a movement from external (or violent) to internal (or ideological) social control, though this must be modified by the various constructions the contributors put on the transition. The main themes and questions of the transitions are synthesized, highlighting the marked similarities the different contributions reveal. The most important of these are the relation to the past, problems of identity, projections of the new and the internal contradictions of nationalist discourse (which informs the process of transition). In conclusion, the similarities and differences between the two transitions indicated by this special issue, are discussed. The assumption of strong similarities between the two seems to hold, it is argued, but much more research into the matter is needed.


Africa ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. O. Beidelman

Opening ParagraphIn the past anthropology was concerned with alien, exotic societies such as Indians, Africans, and Pacific Islanders. Today it is in vogue to do the anthropology of modern societies. Abroad this is termed the study of nation-building and development; at home it becomes the study of various sub-cultures with attention towards ethnic minorities and deviant groups rather than upon the more powerful and prominent segments of our society. Anthropologists tend to neglect those groups nearest themselves, and in the scurry to conduct relevant research, a broad area of great theoretical interest has been passed by. Almost no attention was ever paid by anthropologists to the study of colonial groups such as administrators, missionaries, or traders. Today we can read anthropological studies of the impact of such groups upon native populations, but the focus of such work dims with the colour line. Thus, an anthropologist has studied the machinations of the members of a Nigerian emirate but not the tactics of the British Resident and his staff. Another applied potted Weberian bureaucratic theory to Soga local government but neglected to discuss the British district officers in the same chiefdom. Another asked how Christian Tswana behaved, but not about those missionaries who had converted them. Anthropologists may have spoken about studying total societies, but they did not seem to consider their compatriots as subjects for wonder and analysis.* In the studies of Christianity in Africa, consideration was mainly in terms of the relations of the convert to his traditional society, to the process of social change, or sometimes to the development of native separatist churches. It never included the missionaries who had made the conversions or described everyday affairs at the mission station, clinic, or school.


Author(s):  
Michael E. Whalen ◽  
Paul E. Minnis

Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, and the U.S. Southwest share broadly similar pre-colonial cultures and sequences of change. In fact, the present-day international boundary artificially divides a single culture area. Even so, northwestern Chihuahua is not simply a southern extension of the U.S. Southwest. This chapter reviews the past of northwestern Chihuahua from the early pre-ceramic era through late pre-Hispanic times, showing how these cultures were similar to and different from their counterparts in the Southwest. It is clear that maize farming and at least semi-sedentary life were introduced early in Chihuahua, and this formed a basis for the rapid development of subsequent cultures. The apogee of the area’s late pre-colonial period is the famous center of Paquimé (or Casas Grandes). It is widely recognized as one of the most complex societies of the pre-Hispanic Pueblo world.


Author(s):  
Carlos Ricardo Caichiolo

The DSM, or Dispute Settlement Mechanism, in the absence of a judicial body, is the closest representation of a supreme court or judicial institution in a regional bloc or other international organisation. The search for a peaceful settlement of disputes in the international arena had led to the development of the DSM during the 20th and into the 21st century. The DSM acts as an impartial third party, wherein it intervenes in any international conflict to offer feasible solutions for both sides.O MSC, ou Mecanismo de Solução de Controvérsias, na ausência de um órgão judicial, é a representação mais próxima de uma Corte Suprema ou de instituição judiciária em um bloco regionl ou em organização internacional diversa. A busca por um meio pacífico de solução de disputas no meio internacional levou à criação do MSC ao longo dos séculos XX e XXI. O MSC age como um terceiro imparcial, na medida em que ele intervém em conflitos internacionais com o intuito de ofertar soluções possíveis para as partes envolvidas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-71
Author(s):  
V. P. Kirilenko ◽  
Yu. V. Mishalchenko ◽  
A. N. Shchepova

The article discusses issues related to the settlement of disputes within the framework of the World Trade Organization, as well as assesses the advantages and disadvantages of this system. The specific problems of the dispute settlement system functioning today are considered, and options for optimizing the dispute resolution mechanism and various ways to improve the effectiveness of legal remedies in cases of non-compliance with decisions are proposed. Special attention is paid to the latest topical disputes involving the Russian Federation, the European Union, Ukraine, China and USA resolved within the framework of the World Tr ade Organization, as well as to the crisis faced by the organization due to the absence of a permanent appeals body.


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