Alternative conflict arbitration as a challenge in society

In an increasingly globalised world, the 21st Century human is constantly searching for his rights and their assertion in the thick undergrowth of international, national and private norms. He can no longer take suitable support in this search from (national) state bodies for granted. How he will be able to access his rights in future has long been the subject of intense discussion in political and legal practice. Concepts of extrajudicial dispute resolution such as mediation, arbitration and settlement have long moved onto the side of official judicial dispute decisions. In some areas, these seem to be able to take over successfully, but in others, official jurisdiction is maintaining its monopoly.

However, neither the litigious resolution of legal conflicts nor their solution through consensus lack history or culture. The history of the Western world both inside and outside Europe has just as much rich and relevant experience as the cultures of the Eastern hemisphere. The role of fundamental legal, arts and cultural research is to open the door to this knowledge, to cut through it systematically and to place it at the service of current discussions in social politics regarding regulation, resolution systems or, in short, law and justice.

A particular concern of this project, supported as part of the LOEWE initiative, is communication with practice, which is linked to the project via an "Expert Committee".