18
d. Fundamental questions
[58]
Whatever view one takes, important questions cry out. Landerkin and Pirie
identify th ree critical points of inquiry:75
First, on fundamental justice policy grounds, should judges be doing
JDR? Second, do judges have the jurisdiction to engage in JDR? Third,
do judges have the necessary skills to competently practise JDR?
Stempels questions cast a wider net:76
(a) what types of ADR mechanisms or approaches are appropriate for
judicial incorporation? (b) what ADR techniques are best left to
privatization? (c) what degree of supervision should courts exercise over
private ADR? (d) what ADR methods should be tightly regulated,
discouraged or even prohibited by the court?
Carrie Menkel-Meadows fundamental questions ar e reproduced in Appendix D.
2. Effect on the courts traditional functions
[59]
The focus of ADR is on dispute resolution. However, dispute resolution is not
the only function performed by the courts. Other goals include maintaining order in
society, setting standards for behaviour and upholding rights.77 Fiss speaks of the job
of the courts to ex plicate and give force to the values embodied in authoritative texts
such as the Constitution and statutes; to interpret those values and to bring reality into
accord with them.78 Landerkin and Pirie describe the traditional orthodox system
[as] an institutional one in that the court is visible and accountable, operating with
predetermined rules of procedure that apply equally to all.79 They add that [c]o urts
also generate guidelines for future behaviour out of past occurrences.80
[60]
Is the courts e ffectiveness unduly compromised when disputes are resolved in
private, rather than in public, in accordance with the personal interests of the parties
but without public ascertainment of rights? Is there a need to establish criteria for
determining which cases should be adjudicated in public (whether using traditional
litigation processes or new methods) and which cases are best suited for private
resolution by the parties (using what methods)? As ALRI stated in CM 12.6:81
Promoting the resolution of a case by settlement [agreement] between
the parties may not be appropriate for every case. One of the challenges
for lawyers and judges lies in distinguishing between those cases that
are suitable for settlement and those that appropriately should proceed
to adjudication. Decisions about the diversion of cases away from the