Conflict resolution institutions

Conflict Resolution Institutions is a sub-programme that is offered by Radboud University’s Research Centre for State and Law (SteR) We investigate what new developments like mediators, pressure on judges and digitalisation mean for conflict resolution within the judiciary.

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For more publications and videos, check out our international website.
International website

Main research question

This research project focuses on the following research question:

‘Is there any reason to strengthen the judicial domain and, if so, in what way and by what means? To what extent is it simultaneously possible to digitalise or transfer certain conflict-resolution tasks, in part or whole, to other players in a legally responsible manner?’

The following four sub-themes are being used to answer this overarching research question.

Sub-theme 1: Access to justice

Which barriers towards effective access to justice delivered by (international) courts and other institutions for conflict resolution develop as a result of new developments (such as, climate change and digitalisation) and new legal norms (such as, rules of digital platforms)?

Sub-theme 2: Extra-judicial legal conflict resolution

What does the contemporary growth of ADR and other semi-legal institutions for conflict resolution, such as majors, mean for the judiciary? And how do we evaluate the fairness and effectiveness of (semi-)legal decision-making?

Sub-theme 3: Changing role of the judge in the democratic order

How do digitalisation, international jurisprudence, (weak) constitutional review and other developments, such as, climate change influence the separation of powers between the judiciary and the other branches of government?

Sub-theme 4: Contemporary challenges for the internal operation of the judiciary

How do societal changes, such as digitalisation and New Public Management-measures, influence the expectations of individuals regarding the conflict-solving role of the judge and how can the quality of legal decision-making processes be assessed?

‘Frontiers in Conflict Resolution’ Conversation Series

In this conversation series, the Institutions for Conflict Resolution research group invites well-established and young researchers to talk about their research on the topics of access to justice, alternative and digital dispute resolution, and judicial decision-making.