“Mediation as an Alternative to the Criminal Proceedings: The American Experience.”

Source: (1999) Contemporary Law. N. 5.

Mediation is one of the most successful innovation introduced in the USA and Canada to resolve some of the problems caused by crime. Mediation programs within the criminal justice system constitute a growing component of a broader Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) movement. Because practitioners have found that mediation can be a less combative, less costly, more flexible, and more expeditious process than litigation, mediation has emerged as a primary means to avoid litigation. The success of mediation in diverse, non-criminal context legitimated the notion that mediation should be explored as an alternative means of resolving some of the problems encountered in handling the criminal conflict. Operating within or alongside the criminal justice system, advocates have created programs and trained mediators to facilitate face-to-face meetings between victims and offenders of crime the purpose of which is to help the parties come to an agreement in an attempt to make the situation as “rightâ€? as possible.