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Alternatives in Dispute Processing: Litigation in a Small Claims Court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2024

Austin Sarat
Austin Sarat*
Affiliation:
Amherst College
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Social life is inevitably conflictual. Conflict occurs as individuals with different interests, goals, problems and perspectives seek to achieve a maximum share of the values which any society provides. Yet, the inevitability of conflict does not mean that its occurrence is welcomed. In fact, generally the opposite is true. Conflict, once it occurs, is difficult to end. Resolution is elusive because conflicts transform themselves almost as quickly as they can be defined and strategies for dealing with them developed. Nevertheless, in every society there is a wide range of techniques and procedures available to deal with disputes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , Spring 1976 , pp. 339 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © 1976 The Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

*

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1975 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. The initial idea was developed while I was a Russell Sage Fellow in Law and Social Science at Yale University. Financial support was provided by a Faculty Research Grant from Amherst College. For their comments on an earlier draft I wish to thank Larry Baum, Sheldon Goldman, Stephen Wasby, Marc Galanter, Beth Sarat and two anonymous reviewers.

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