Sharia court–annexed mediation was first implemented in the Indonesian judiciary system in 2008. The majority of mediators in Sharia courts are male judges who are obligated by civil procedure law to initially settle disputes amicably prior to the litigation process. The authors argue that court-annexed mediation has the potential to be the champion of Indonesian legal reform as it has similar characteristics to musyawarah, the indigenous way of resolving conflicts. However, given the prevalence of violence against women in disputes arising from separation and divorce, mediators must have appropriate awareness, knowledge, skills, and techniques to identify, understand, and handle these cases.

Sierra Leone suffered a destructive 11-year civil war that largely left its communities torn apart and in need of vast redevelopment. One of the ways that communities are rebuilding and making efforts to move forward is through the chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process. Based on historical norms, this process involves the community leader, or chief, helping to resolve disputes within the community. This article reviews this chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process, discusses the types of disputes settled, and provides broader lessons learned for communities who may be interested in truly community-based dispute resolution.

This article examines the elicitive style of conflict resolution training implemented in Vanuatu through the Kastom Governance Partnership, an international collaboration between Australian and Ni-Vanuatu institutions. The workshops sought to elicit and articulate a framework of managing conflict that built on kastom mediation, introduced Western conflict resolution frameworks and skills, and provided critical reflection on both. The aim of the workshops was to build the mediative capacity of Ni-Vanuatu chiefs in dealing with conflicts impacted by introduced change. The training outcomes indicate both strengths and challenges of elicitive-style workshops designed to elide the hegemony of Western conflict resolution training.

Geographically, Rotuma is located at approximately 12° S latitude and 177° E longitude on the western margins of Polynesia. The island lies about 300 miles north of the Republic of Fiji. Politically, Rotuma's administration was under the authority of a district officer, who was responsible to a commissioner, and a governor in Fiji. Rotuma is a disputatious society but does not use violent means to resolve differences. There are five different conflict resolution mechanisms practiced on this island. These are the belief in immanent justice, avoidance of confrontation, mediation, arbitration courts, and the custom of faksoro. This article will focus on the faksoro custom by examining the ritual processes, understanding their cosmological meanings, and exploring their overall potency in resolving conflicts. Also implications of faksoro outside Rotuma society are discussed. My data analysis was based on re-storying with critical examination of the faksoro custom as the “ritual apology” of the indigenous people of Rotuma in the South Pacific.

This article presents an overview of the conflict resolution practices of indigenous populations in the Arctic. Among the aboriginal groups discussed are the Inuit, the Aleut, and the Saami. Having presented the conflict resolution methods, the authors discuss the types of conflicts that are currently present in the Arctic, including interpersonal, intercultural, environmental, and economic. The authors argue the need to develop culturally appropriate conflict resolution mechanisms.

A Western model of court-annexed mediation was introduced into the Indonesian courts in 2003, but has been relatively unsuccessful. The authors argue that one factor contributing to this is the failure of mediators to use culturally appropriate approaches and emphasize the need for mediators to be trained to be culturally fluent and self-reflexive. They analyze cultural factors relevant to mediation with participants from diverse cultural backgrounds and implications for training. Musyawarah mufakat, the indigenous way of resolving disputes, is compared to a Western interest-based model of mediation and a case study illustrates how the process can incorporate an indigenous approach.