Role of international adjudication in conflict resolution and transformation

Abstract

The chapter explores the positive role that international adjudication can play in "conflict resolution" (and transformation) between parties by distinguishing it from the traditional role played by adjudication in "dispute settlement". Through an exploration of transdisciplinary literature, legal instruments, and jurisprudence, it distinguishes between “conflict” and “dispute”, “resolution” and “settlement”, and “conflict resolution” and “dispute settlement”, and suggests that despite pervasive employment of these terms interchangeably by scholars, such teleological distinctions not only have firm theoretical grounding but are essential for structured analysis of adjudication so as to devise appropriate processes for conflict resolution and transformation. It challenges the common assumption that adversarial litigation is counter-productive or inimical to conflict resolution and transformation under all circumstances.