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No / This chapter is based on extensive qualitative fieldwork in several districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states in India. It provides an overview of the inter-state water disputes context in India and then proceeds to an in depth analysis of agriculture and water use patterns in the two states and the pattern of political mobilisation. The analysis here appears to show that one of the reasons for an impasse in this dispute is the high degree of politicisation of water use for agriculture in both states. The paper also suggests that the Inter State Water Disputes Act contributes to this politicisation by recognising only state governments as parties to water disputes. The paper argues that an integrated river management board would be an idealistic solution but for this to work there is a need to invest in institutional development. The paper also argues that moving away from claims over absolute quantities and arriving at relative shares (Guhan formula) will help especially in the context of climate change induced variability in rainfall patterns from year to year.

Mediation is a type of dispute resolution in which a third party intervenes to help disputing parties reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. In recent years, individuals and organizations have begun advertising Islamic mediation services. The development of this field has important implications for Muslims living in Western countries, as Muslim minority communities have long sought ways to resolve disputes according to their personal religious beliefs. Avenues for family dispute resolution—including the civil courts, informal Islamic courts, family counseling, and informal mediation by an imam—each have distinct drawbacks. Professional Islamic mediation could fill a significant gap in services. Although some work has been done on theoretical models of Islamic conflict resolution, little information exists on the current practice of professional Islamic mediation in Muslim minority communities. This study addresses this gap in knowledge through case studies of practicing Islamic mediators. Results indicate wide variation in the field in terms of how practitioners themselves define Islamic mediation. There were also distinct differences in the role the mediators played in relation to the disputing parties, what types of cases they mediated, and how they organized and funded their services. The lack of standardization in the field may be a positive thing, however, as different services may fill different needs in Muslim communities. / text

This diploma thesis deals with two types of disputes under the Czech employment law - the employment disputes and the labor disputes. The main reason for choosing this topic of the thesis was partly due to author's personal experience with the employment dispute, the extensive judicial case law as well as some aspects of the solution of employment disputes before the court - especially the length of proceedings and the decreasing number of cases brought before the court. The first chapter of this thesis relates to procedural aspects of the employment disputes and the author analyzes the main differences between "ordinary" civil proceedings and the employment disputes proceedings. The basic difference is the appointment of the court in the employment disputes, especially the assessors, and the decision-making process of the panel of judges. The main focus of this thesis is a chapter dealing with the employment disputes about the invalidity of the termination of employment, especially focusing on the substantive legislation of each of the methods of the termination of employment and the basic conclusions from the case law of the general courts. Following the main chapter are also solved questions about employment disputes regarding the amount due of the wage and also the issue of disputes concerning...

Os órgãos que compõem o Sistema de Solução de Controvérsias da OMC possuem competência para analisar reclamações fundadas nos denominados acordos abrangidos e formular conclusões e recomendações sobre a conformidade das medidas impugnadas com os referidos acordos. Para interpretar as disposições destes acordos, estes órgãos podem recorrer às regras costumeiras de interpretação previstas na Convenção de Viena sobre o Direito dos Tratados de 1969. Estas regras de interpretação, por sua vez, permitem àqueles órgãos recorrer a espécies normativas produzidas fora do contexto da OMC como subsídios para esclarecer o sentido dos termos das disposições dos acordos abrangidos. Ao se valer destas espécies normativas, os referidos órgãos estarão também, inevitavelmente, interpretando as disposições destes. Nesse contexto, esta pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar de que forma as espécies normativas tradicionais de Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente (convenções, costumes e princípios gerais de direito) foram interpretadas pelos órgãos do OSC em três casos escolhidos para representar o problema. Os resultados da análise dos casos demonstraram que espécies normativas do Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente são efetivamente admitidas no processo interpretativo dos acordos abrangidos, o que pode se dar de forma vinculante ou não, bem como podem influenciar efetivamente na interpretação destes acordos, confirmando-lhes o significado ou lhes atribuindo um significado não explícito, embora as conclusões desta interpretação nem sempre resultem em posicionamentos totalmente favoráveis às medidas unilaterais adotadas pelos Membros da OMC a título de preocupação ambiental. / The organs that make up the dispute settlement system of the WTO have power to examine complaints founded in so-called covered agreements and formulate conclusions and recommendations on the compliance of the contested measures with the agreements. To interpret the provisions of these agreements, these organs may make use of interpretation customary rules of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. These rules of interpretation, in turn, allow those organs resort to normative species produced outside the context of WTO as subsidies to clarify the meaning of the terms of the provisions of the covered agreements. By borrowing these normative species, those bodies will also inevitably interpreting the provisions of these. In this context, this study aimed to examine how traditional normative species of International Law of the Environment (conventions, customs and general principles of law) were interpreted by the DSB organs in three cases chosen to represent the problem. The case analysis results showed that normative species of International Law of the Environment are effectively admitted in the interpretive process of the covered agreements, which can occur in binding or not, and can effectively influence the interpretation of these agreements, confirming them the meaning or assigning them a no explicit meaning, although the conclusions of this interpretation does not always result in favorable positions to fully unilateral measures adopted by WTO Members in respect of environmental concern.

For decades, unresolved conflicts have negatively influenced the general public through increased violence, overwhelming the judicial system. A literature review suggested that between 15% and 20% of conflicts result in an impasse. This study was designed to understand how the implementation and application of the transformative meditation technique (TMT) is used to resolve conflicts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the interpretation and implementation of TMT. This qualitative case study was grounded in the conceptual framework of interest-based negotiation (IBN) principles. The research questions focused on mediators' perceptions, interpretations, and depth of knowledge, as well as the effectiveness of the transformative mediation technique (TMT) as an improvement over evaluative or facilitative techniques in resolving conflicts and reducing impasses. Twenty face-to-face interviews were conducted with purposefully selected mediators. Data were coded and analyzed to identify recurring themes: interests, needs, responsibility, relationship, empowerment, problem solving, and negotiation. The findings of the data analysis revealed that mediators were familiar with TMT; interpretation and implementation varied with mediator style. Moreover, most mediators were not highly educated in TMT. In addition, it was found that simply having knowledge of TMT did not prepare mediators to apply the technique appropriately. Mediators were more attracted to the hybrid transformative mediation technique (HTMT). This study has the potential to create positive social change by reducing the number of litigations, giving relief to the overburdened justice system, and thus decreasing the use of limited courts resources.

<p>This research examines the effectiveness of these dispute resolution mechanisms in environmental disputes and what improvements should be made in order to make those mechanisms suitable for these types of disputes.</p>

In many of the disputes concerning custody, residence and visitation determined by the court, some form of violence has been performed. The consequence of a child who has witnessed violence in their homes is a problem that is sometimes overlooked. It is not unusual that the violence will continue even after a separation. The law shows that the child´s need of both parents is to be met. This has according to previous studies resulted in the fact that courts do not always see visitation with a violent parent as a risk for the child. This is the reason why we wanted to investigate this further. The aim of our study was to examine and describe how courts argue for decisions regarding a child's contact with a parent who is suspected of having used violence in the family, based on current laws. The method of the study was document analysis and the material consisted of ten Swedish court cases from the years 2010 and 2011. The starting point of the analysis was the sociology of childhood together with the concepts “child’s perspective” and “the perspective of the child”. The court cases were analyzed on basis of the law, our analytical framework and previous research. Our study shows that the court considers it important for the child with a near and well contact with both parents. The results also show that the will of the child not seems as important to take into account as the child’s best interests or the risk that the child gets hurt.

The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine elements of public participation in environmental decision-making and to propose that public participation processes may be made more meaningful through the provision of comprehensive and flexible procedural mechanisms coupled with a true ability to affect the outcome of the process, rather than through simply granting more rights. Over the years, natural resources management has grown as a response to ecological concerns over the state and future of our environment. The law too, has developed to accommodate environmental concerns and define legal rights and procedures. Public participation becomes a vehicle for ensuring that affected interests are taken into account in environmental decision-making. In Chapter 1, the established and traditional means of involving the public in environmental decision-making such as litigation and public hearings are examined; however, they have been characterized as too restrictive, not only in terms of the parties who are included, but also the issues. Furthermore, agency administration of complex resource management issues has fuelled public discontent, as many groups understand it is an inherently political process and doubt its legitimacy. In exploring this phenomenon, this paper is first placed in a theoretical context, drawing upon ecological, legal, and ethical philosophies. However, it is also informed by the perspectives of local environmental groups and residents. The turn to other techniques, or Alternative Dispute Resolution, may seem a logical and appropriate evolution, suggesting ways for all affected parties to be involved. Chapter 2 reviews different forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution which provide some principles about the use of mediation and agreements to supplement the regulatory processes of resource management. It is important to consider the mediation process itself, the desire to remedy what is considered to be the failings of the traditional adversarial system, the psychological dynamics of the process, and the parameters for successful negotiations leading to implementation. Chapter 3 commences with an analysis of the legal context of public participation in British Columbia. It determines the discretionary authority of the administrative agencies, and the formal window of opportunity for public input, under the (federal) Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the (provincial) British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act. This chapter also discusses an additional and interesting vehicle for public participation, although not yet implemented in British Columbia - the Environmental Bill of Rights. Chapter 4 provides a more concrete setting for the use of public participation processes, through the use of a case study - the British Columbia Transit Sky Train Extension Project. The "NIMBY", or "Not In My Backyard" scenario involved has the potential to facilitate negotiation; however, real inroads will be made through improving existing legal avenues of participation such as consultation. In fact, this key concern has been the sore point with respect to the Sky Train Project for many residents of Vancouver. In conclusion, the utility of public participation processes expressed in environmental legislation is reliant not only upon the ability of the law to be flexible enough to serve the various natural resource interests of all stakeholders, but also to be conducted in a manner that is inclusory and substantive.

<p>This research examines the effectiveness of these dispute resolution mechanisms in environmental disputes and what improvements should be made in order to make those mechanisms suitable for these types of disputes.</p>