Keynote Address: Consensus Building, Public Dispute Resolution, and Social Justice

TitleKeynote Address: Consensus Building, Public Dispute Resolution, and Social Justice
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsSusskind, L
JournalFordham Urban Law Journal
Volume35
Issue1
Pagination185-203
Date Published01/2007
Keywordsconsensus-oriented model, democracy, public dispute resolution, social justice
Abstract

These remarks were prepared for and delivered at the Second Annual Fordham University School of Law Dispute Resolution Society Symposium on October 12, 2007. The Address discusses how democracy, public dispute resolution, and social justice fit together. The speaker opens with an example of a small city making a decision about a large industrial development project from the perspective of a traditional model and a consensus-oriented model. He then addresses three major problems with the first: (i) the majority rule problem; (ii) the representation problem; and (iii) the adversarial format problem. The speaker goes on to advocate for the consensusbuilding model, followed by a Question and Answer session.

URLhttp://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2280&context=ulj