Abstract
Court-connected mediated agreements seem to both fulfil and fail the
ideal of self-determination in mediation theory. In a study of 134 agreements from court-connected mediation, we found that the majority of agreements contain creative elements and display great variation in the provisions they contain. These results indicate that the parties play an important role in crafting the substance of their agreements. However, we also found that the wording of the agreements is characterised by legal and bureaucratic language to the extent that people without legal training find it difficult to read and understand them. The judicial language is well known for the drafters of the agreement but not the parties. Thus, court-connected mediation seems to fail aspects of self-determination when it comes to drafting agreements. We draw on new-institutional theory when we explore and explain this apparent contradiction within the court-connected mediation practice.
ideal of self-determination in mediation theory. In a study of 134 agreements from court-connected mediation, we found that the majority of agreements contain creative elements and display great variation in the provisions they contain. These results indicate that the parties play an important role in crafting the substance of their agreements. However, we also found that the wording of the agreements is characterised by legal and bureaucratic language to the extent that people without legal training find it difficult to read and understand them. The judicial language is well known for the drafters of the agreement but not the parties. Thus, court-connected mediation seems to fail aspects of self-determination when it comes to drafting agreements. We draw on new-institutional theory when we explore and explain this apparent contradiction within the court-connected mediation practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Nordic Mediation Research |
| Editors | Anna Nylund, Kaijus Ervasti, Lin Adrian |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Place of Publication | Cham, Switzerland |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Publication date | 3 Apr 2018 |
| Pages | 83-103 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-319-73018-9 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-319-73019-6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Apr 2018 |