Question for ALL students Dispute Resolution and the role of legal practitioners:

Consider the following statement made by Justice Hayne at the Sino-Australian Seminar in Beijing in 2002. The remarks reflected the views of the legal profession towards dispute resolution 20 years ago:

... it is relevant to speak of the rule of law in connection with dispute resolution only if the dispute concerns legal enforceable rights and duties and only if the parties to the dispute wish or are required to have their dispute determined in accordance with those rights and duties.

1 Reflect on the above statement and discuss the role of dispute resolution in the present context of the Australian legal profession.

Your answer should include:

• A critical analysis of: Whether a greater focus is required in relation to training legal practitioners in the various skills of dispute resolution.
• The various dispute resolution processes and the roles they play within the legal profession.
• The challenges faced by the legal profession in maintaining a balance between traditional methods of litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
• A reflection on your own participation in the Role Plays in this Subject, and how these experiences have shaped your understanding of dispute resolution. The above question requires you to undertake both a reflective and critical approach using ONLY the material studied in this Subject. No additional research is required and no marks will be awarded for additional researcher