"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness, for they shall be filled...”
As things now stand we are moving gradually towards the day that the poor will not select mediation as much as mediation will select the poor. Today the promise of equal justice for all remains little more than a distant hope for many who find themselves alienated from economic sustenance by the chasm which is poverty.
Mediation was never intended to replace litigation –neither for the wealthy nor for the poor. Mediation is an effective and viable means of resolving some disputes, but mediation is not an end unto itself. Some conflicts will not be resolved at mediation and some disputes will not reach an equitable result in a court of law. But neither a mediated settlement nor a court judgment are ends in and of themselves. The end that must by pursued for every controversy must be Justice. Regrettably, under the prevailing mediation structure the goal of securing Justice for the disputants is not indelibly written into the equation. We cannot lose sight of the notion that Justice must remain the central objective of people who hunger and thirst for freedom, liberation, and equality.
When evaluated by any objective standard the level of poverty in South Africa is nothing short of deplorable and the previousely disadvantaged are also being joined by masses of presently disadvantaged. People of goodwill must therefore continue to advocate for increased funding for legal assistance for the poor. We must encourage legal professionals to continue providing pro bono services and “sliding-scale” legal fees to the fullest extent reasonably possible. This is not to deny the many positive efforts of the women and men who donate long hours to serve the poor through their local bar associations, legal aid societies, and related programs. They are truly providing a great and noble service. But it is time for a radical shift in public policy; a new paradigm that is rooted in equality of opportunity for everyone. Mitigating the causes and effects of an inaccessible legal system must be moved from the back burner and catapulted to its rightful place near the front of the South African agenda. The time is ripe for a paradigm shift that will trigger comprehensive efforts to move public policy in a new and more humane direction.
The growth of mediation fresources goal of Social Justice is an attainable goal. People of goodwill must speak truth to power and advocate for the interests of the poor. Justice for some, but not for all, is an injustice. Both as a matter of public policy and from an ethical standpoint our society cannot continue to side line those that are most in need as there are massive cost savings associated with mediation. As a trained mediator I believe in the promise and the efficacy of mediation. But alternative forms of dispute resolution, including mediation, are not proxies for the dispensation of justice by a court of law. The letter of the law cannot reach its full potential until a new day emerges whereby the spirit of the law is applied equally to all persons without regard to an individual’s economic circumstances.
