Spór i jego rozwiązanie
Dispute and Its Settlement

Summary/Abstract: The main assumption of this paper is that is both practically and theoretically necessary to separate the processes of conflict and dispute and the processes of conflict resolution and dis­pute settlement. The latter processes may be characterized as in­tentionally aimed at the elimination of conflict and of conflicting claims pursued by the parties in a dispute. Then, the most essential features of the dispute settlement processes are discussed, and typology of procedures is made according to two criteria, first, whether the entrance of third parties into a dispute depends on the decision by parties, and second, whether the de­cision made by the intervening third party is imposed on the par­ties to the dispute. As the main questions which may help in the development of more comprehensive theory of dispute settlement processes following three are proposed: 1/ what factors influence the decision of the parties to present their dispute to a third par­ties and the decision of a third party to intervene into a dispute on its own or public behalf? 2/ what factors determine the choi­ce between mediation and settlement of the dispute by the third party? 3/ what factors determine the effectiveness of mediation in a dispute that in case of success puts the end to conflict, and what is the relation between the settlement of dispute that has no necessary relation to the further development of conflict? The re­sults of the public opinion poll from 1974 are then discussed that may be relevant to the second question. It is found that incongruence of social status increases the tendency toward the choice of settlement by official authorities acting according to the preestablished standards and decreases the tendency, otherwise more frequent in the society, to choose informal and unauthoritative mediation. This is interpreted as result of fear of underestima­tion of one's status that leads to withdrawal from interactions like negotiations where the evaluation of social status of the parties may be important. Finally, these research results are used to characterize the dispute settlement culture and institutions of Polish society in general. The discrepancy between an ideal of compromise and individual desires to win one's own case is supposedly resolved by expectations of settlement addressed to the official institutions even if they are of mediatory or conciliatory character. The need for development of mediatory procedures for social group conflicts is stressed.

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