Discussion led by Frank Astill, PAVE meeting
Parliament House 18 December 2012
Frank began by considering the question of what is/who are the PAVE generations? Pave has been operating for 17 years. He states in writing that:
‘For us: lawyers, psychologists, teachers, social workers, mediators who have been attracted to the links between our professions and ways of advocating for peace.
PAVE coincides with the mediation movement, the need for professions to be client- centered, the re-evaluation of negotiation theory, and perhaps the prominence of centers for the study of peace and conflict. It drew its original inspiration from the power of literature to promote peace. Ada Aharoni inspirerd Katherine Johnson, and here we are:
Who have been the Pavers?
In recent times we have lost Stella Cornelius and Roger Fisher. Let’s take a few moments to reflect on their contribution to the ideas that bring us here.’
- Sir Laurence Street – leading people to a conclusion
- Greg Tillet – the Myths of Mediation
- The Harvard Negotiation Process. The book ‘Getting to Yes’ was the figurehead of the Harvard Negotiation Project.
- Eric Stevens – UNIFAM
- Jennifer David
- John Pollard – mainstream of law
- Family Court – bomb threats: like the current US tragedy of the massacre of young school children, a time for standing back and considering the question ‘ there has to be a better way’.
- Financial Review article – ‘The Peace Myth’
- Stella Cornelius and Roger Fisher were inspirational as two Pavers
Legal Education and the Promotion of Peace:
Characteristics of contemporary legal education:
- Centrality of the client
- Negotiating and consulting
- Problem solving
- The ascension of ethics
Is the emphasis on consensual dispute resolution a factor in promoting peace? Frank stated that:
‘Nine years ago, at a PAVE meeting, I raised Shakespeare’s very well-known line in the context of peacemaking. It is worth re-visiting, for its ambiguity and for its value in linking law and literature:
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
Shakespeare, Dick the Butcher to Jack Cade, Henry VI, Part 2, Act iv Scene ii
Arguably, one meaning of this is that, in order to achieve revolution, the lawyers must be killed – or, if peace is to be preserved, there must be lawyers. Or, lawyers get in the road of change. ‘
The International Law Competition is influenced by the Win/Win philosophy which aims to achieve a result, without damaging people along the way.
The first meeting of ADRA was held on the 1st floor at Campbell Street and Wendy Foulkes was the first co-ordinator. Wendy was very hands on and gave 6 weeks training resulting in mediations being successful 85% of the time by coming to agreement. This was undermined over time as magistrates tended to give referrals for apprehended violence orders.
John Pollard as President of ADRA got everyone together and looked at how there may be greater co-operation amongst those in the field of mediation. The results did not bear fruit then but there is greater co-operation now. The previous sense of competition seems to have gone with the advent of the Mediation Standards Board.
The development of a General Complaints Template for the public forced a lot of people from rival factions to talk and co-operate.
The CJC was free, but faced resistance from the legal profession. Lawyers tend to be poor at handling clients who are emotional and tend to function out of fear – acting to ensure that there is no allegation of negligence.
A function of the law is to achieve at least partial agreement so that the parties can continue to negotiate and hopefully settle. Workers Compensation is a straight out settlement – give dignity to individuals who want their problems solved.
There was heated discussion about the role of force in gaining peace with reference to Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.