All societies, communities, organisations and interpersonal relationships experience conflict at some point or other. While conflicts are not necessarily harmful, they can lead to the destruction and degradation of relationships.

When they escalate beyond competitive behaviour and acquire the additional purpose of inflicting physical or psychological damage on the adversary, the negative and harmful dynamics of conflict exact their full costs.

A significant variable in the outcome of any dispute is the way it is managed and resolved. Traditionally, we are reared into a culture that teaches us to resolve our differences by recourse to the courts; a judicial system that is designed to take a decision for the parties on the basis of societal norms, rules, regulations, case laws or contracts.

The goal of a judicial or quasi-judicial process is not reconciliation or agreement between the parties but a unilateral decision by an authoritative third-party (a judge) concerning which of the parties is right.

Legal and authoritative judicial determination while crucial to maintaining law and order in society is adversarial in nature and generally leads to a win-lose outcome, since it is premised on a decision regarding who is right and who is wrong.

Now more than ever before, there is a need for dispute resolution procedures that assist parties in satisfying their interests in ways that minimise physical or psychological harm in ways that increase the likelihood of reaching sustainable mutually acceptable settlements.

Conciliation, mediation and arbitration are all forms of third party assistance. Many still refer to these processes interchangeably, not quite understanding the distinct role played by the third party in each case.

Conciliation is essentially an applied psychological tactic aimed at correcting perceptions, reducing unreasonable fears and improving communication to an extent that permits reasonable discussion to take place and makes rational bargaining possible.

Conciliation is the psychological component of mediation, in which the third party attempts to create an atmosphere of trust and co-operation that promotes positive relationships and is conducive to negotiations.

While conciliation, as described here, may appear as if it were a separate phase of negotiation and mediation, conciliation, in practice, is an ongoing process that occurs throughout negotiation and mediation.

Mediation is one process that can contribute to effective, non-litigious dispute resolution. Negotiation in private decision-making by parties may also lead to efficient procedures for co-operative problem-solving.

But unfortunately, many of those in conflict are unable to develop an effective resolution process for themselves, lay aside distrust and animosity, deal with psychological barriers to settlement or develop integrative solutions. They often need help to do so.

Mediation is an extension or elaboration of the negotiation process that involves the intervention of an acceptable third-party who has limited or no authoritative decision-making power.

Unlike arbitration, the mediator cannot unilaterally mandate or force parties to resolve their differences and enforce a decision. Mediation is usually initiated when the parties no longer believe they can handle the conflict alone.

Arbitration is usually initiated when the dispute, regarding contested issues requires an advisory decision or binding award. Arbitration is a confidential process in that the proceedings, and often the outcome, are not open to public scrutiny.

Parties often select arbitration because it is more informal, less expensive and faster than judicial proceedings. Arbitration, unlike mediation, has the power of a court judgment, which means that decisions are legally binding.

Mediation is essentially a voluntary process. However this does not mean that there may not be pressure to try mediation. Some courts in family and civil cases in the United States and Western Europe (as well as in the recommendations in the Maltese White Paper on the Family) have ruled/implied, that parties must make a good faith effort at mediation before the court will be willing to hear the case.

Attempting compulsory mediation does not, however, mean that the parties are forced to settle by mediation. Moreover, mediators do not automatically assume at the beginning stage of intervention that mediated negotiation is the best approach for conflict management or resolution.

Neither can an initial statement by the parties that they wish to mediate be taken at face value. It is only through a careful assessment process that the disputants and the mediator may jointly arrive at this conclusion.

So far I have highlighted four procedures for decision-making. Once a party has assessed its interests and those of other parties and reviewed potential dispute outcomes, a particular approach is selected to reach the desired end.

Interest assessment and approach selection may be conducted by the mediator privately with each party. There are five selection options to be considered in the selection process:

Competition (litigation), avoidance, accommodation, negotiated compromise and interest-based negotiation (mediation);

A careful assessment of the parties' interests may reveal that they are not willing to make the substantive, procedural or psychological moves that would be required by a negotiated settlement.

In these preliminary discussions the mediator would examine: the actual interest and/or potential for an ongoing relationship; the degree of mutually incompatible interests and how these overlap with the interest of the other; the potential of other relevant actors in the dispute; and their direct/indirect influence on the dispute.

After careful analysis of all this, as well as other such considerations, the mediator may advise that other approaches to resolving conflict may be more appropriate.

Ms Spiteri Gonzi is centre director of Concordia Malta Centre for Conciliation and Mediation Services. Concordia offers a free consultation service to parties in dispute. For further information visit their Website www.concordia-adr.org, e-mail info@concordia-adr.org or tel: 9988-2225.