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The Role Of Mediation In Tackling Neighbour Disputes And Anti-Social Behaviour
1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.1 The main aims of the study are to use case studies to:
a. collect and analyse substantial fresh evidence about mediation and alternative approaches to neighbour dispute resolution in Scotland, and
b. draw conclusions about the effectiveness and costs of mediation as compared to legal remedies (interdict, anti-social behaviour order, action for possession and eviction, and action by environmental health departments, police and procurator fiscal).
1.2 Specifically, the objectives are to:
- collect quantitative and qualitative evidence of the costs and effectiveness of the intervention in each case, including the views of disputants;
- present conclusions about the relative effectiveness and costs of mediation; and
- examine the reasons why some disputants do not agree to the use of mediation.
1.3 Existing research on neighbour disputes and anti-social behaviour is based largely on the experience of local authority housing management. The dominance of owner occupation generally, and the increasingly mixed tenure profile of many former 'council estates', mean that neighbour disputes can no longer be seen as solely a local authority housing management problem. This research, therefore, will examine the use of mediation and legal measures across tenures.
1.4 We adopt the broad definition of neighbour dispute used by Mackay and Moody (1994): 'incidents that reflect an underlying or potential conflict, between people living in relational and geographical proximity, excluding the immediate family'.
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