agentic-govbot/templates/dispute-resolution/shalish-mediation.md

Shalish Mediation Dispute Resolution

A modernized approach to traditional village-level mediation, developed with cultural sensitivity and practical improvements

This dispute resolution protocol can be integrated into any governance constitution as an article on conflict resolution.

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Article: Dispute Resolution

Section 1: Principles and Values

Core Values This community centers on:

• Community harmony - Restoring peaceful relationships
• Restorative justice - Repair over punishment
• Cultural respect - Honoring traditional wisdom
• Fairness - Just outcomes for all parties
• Collective wellbeing - Community health over individual "winning"

Traditional Roots, Modern Adaptation This process:

• Draws from Bangladesh's traditional village-level mediation (Shalish)
• Adapts practices for contemporary contexts
• Honors cultural traditions while addressing historical limitations
• Emphasizes consensual rather than imposed solutions
• Maintains community-based approach

Community Standards

• Handbook documents procedures
• Explains cultural traditions and adaptations
• Available in local languages as needed
• Trained mediators orient new members
• Bot maintains accessible documentation

Section 2: When to Use Shalish Mediation

Appropriate Disputes Well-suited for:

• Interpersonal conflicts between community members
• Family or household disagreements
• Neighbor disputes
• Resource sharing conflicts
• Misunderstandings and communication breakdowns
• Matters affecting community cohesion

Community-Centered Approach This process emphasizes:

• Maintaining community relationships
• Collective resources and shared spaces
• Cultural values and traditions
• Long-term harmony over quick fixes
• Face-saving and dignity for all

When Alternative Processes Better Consider other approaches for:

• Cases involving serious violence
• Power imbalances requiring advocacy
• Situations where mediation pressure inappropriate
• Legal violations needing formal process
• Cases needing specialized expertise

Section 3: The Role of Mediators

Mediator Responsibilities Mediators:

• Help parties communicate effectively
• Educate about mediation benefits
• Facilitate discussion without imposing solutions
• Ensure fair process
• Document agreements
• Follow up on implementation

What Mediators Don't Do Explicitly, mediators:

• Do not render judgments or decisions
• Do not advocate for either party
• Do not enforce agreements
• Do not enforce laws
• Do not take sides

Mediator Selection and Training

• Community identifies potential mediators
• Training in mediation techniques and cultural sensitivity
• Understanding of traditional and modern practices
• Ongoing education and support
• Bot tracks trained mediator roster

Solo or Co-Mediation Mediators decide based on case:

• Single mediator for straightforward disputes
• Co-mediation for complex cases
• Diverse pair for balanced perspectives
• Cultural considerations in selection
• Parties informed of mediator selection

Section 4: Initiating Mediation

Requesting Mediation Disputants request through:

• Direct contact with known mediator
• Request to mediation coordinator via @govbot
• Referral from community leader
• Mutual agreement to try mediation

Mediator Outreach After request received:

• Mediator contacts both parties
• Explains mediation process and benefits
• Answers questions and addresses concerns
• Ensures voluntary participation
• Schedules initial meetings

Setting Expectations Mediators educate parties about:

• How mediation works
• Benefits of collaborative problem-solving
• Mediator's neutral role
• Voluntary nature of process
• Confidentiality
• Focus on future solutions

Section 5: Process Structure

Preparation Phase Before joint session:

• Mediator collects initial statements from each party
• Meets privately with each party
• Understands perspectives and interests
• Identifies key issues
• Assesses readiness for joint meeting

Establishing Logistics Mediator arranges:

• Neutral meeting location
• Convenient time for all parties
• Appropriate physical setup
• Any needed accommodations
• Virtual options if appropriate

Joint Mediation Session Typical structure:

1. Mediator opening and ground rules (10 min)
2. Each party's uninterrupted statement (15-20 min each)
3. Mediator clarification and summarizing
4. Issue identification and prioritization
5. Discussion and option generation
6. Agreement building
7. Documenting outcome
8. Closing and follow-up planning

Session Duration

• Typically 2-3 hours for joint session
• Breaks as needed
• May require multiple sessions
• Flexible pacing based on needs

Section 6: Ground Rules and Communication Principles

Core Communication Agreements All participants commit to:

• Speak for yourself - Use "I" statements
• Avoid blame - Focus on impacts and needs, not accusations
• Don't interrupt - Let each person finish
• Attack problems, not people - Separate issue from person
• Listen to understand - Not just to respond
• Respect confidentiality - What's shared stays private
• Participate in good faith - Genuine effort to resolve

Mediator Enforcement Mediator gently enforces rules:

• Reminds if ground rules broken
• Reframes inflammatory statements
• Takes breaks if tensions high
• May meet separately if needed
• Maintains respectful atmosphere

Section 7: Voluntary Participation

Truly Voluntary Process is voluntary:

• Either party can decline
• Can leave at any time
• No consequences for non-participation
• Agreements only if both consent
• No coercion or pressure

Social Expectations While technically voluntary:

• Community culture may create social pressure
• Expectation to attempt resolution
• Face-saving considerations
• Mediator acknowledges these dynamics
• Works to ensure genuine choice

When Someone Declines If party refuses mediation:

• Respect their decision
• Explore reasons if willing to share
• Alternative pathways available
• No formal consequences
• May return to mediation later if circumstances change

Section 8: Assessment and Understanding

Seeking Clarity Mediators help parties:

• Share their perspectives fully
• Understand each other's views
• Identify underlying interests
• Clarify facts versus interpretations
• Recognize common ground
• Define what resolution looks like

Developing Consensual Standards Rather than imposing standards:

• Parties discuss what fairness means here
• Reference shared community values
• Consider cultural traditions
• Build mutual understanding
• Create their own framework

Background Information Mediator gathers understanding of:

• History of relationship
• Previous conflicts or agreements
• Community context
• Cultural considerations
• Other factors affecting dispute

Section 9: Deliberation Process

Information Sharing Information flows through:

• Direct testimony from parties
• Witness accounts if relevant and agreed
• Documents if provided
• Mediator ensures all perspectives heard
• Focus on understanding, not proving

Additional Voices May include:

• Primary parties - Central to process
• Community representatives - For disputes affecting collective resources
• Family representatives - In family-related matters
• Elders or respected members - For cultural guidance
• Witnesses - If parties agree
• All additional participants by mutual agreement

Mediator Principles Throughout deliberation, mediators:

• Don't interject their own views when parties agree
• "Reality test" disagreements without judgment
• Help parties explore consequences of options
• Support creative problem-solving
• Trust parties to find their own solutions

Section 10: Resolution and Agreement

Building Consensus Resolution emerges through:

• Negotiation facilitated by mediator
• Consensus-building around options
• Creative solutions addressing both parties' needs
• Voluntary agreement by all
• No imposed solutions

Types of Agreements May include:

• Behavior changes
• Communication protocols
• Resource sharing arrangements
• Apologies or acknowledgments
• Restitution or repair
• Boundaries or separation
• Future conflict prevention

Drafting Agreement Mediator:

• Documents agreed points in writing
• Uses clear, specific language
• Both parties review and approve
• All sign the agreement
• Each party receives copy
• Submit to @govbot for records

When Agreement Not Reached If mediation doesn't result in full agreement:

• Partial agreements still valuable
• Document any progress made
• Identify remaining issues
• Discuss next steps
• No penalty for non-resolution

Section 11: When Mediation Doesn't Work

Reasons Mediation May Fail

• Parties too far apart
• Power imbalances too significant
• Emotions too raw
• Issues too complex
• Not right time
• Parties not in good faith

Alternative Options Mediator may suggest:

• Break and return later - Time for reflection
• Additional community input - Broader consultation
• Different approach - Try facilitated dialogue or circle process
• Formal referral - To governance body or external resources
• New mediators - Different personalities might work better
• Separation protocols - If co-existence not possible

No Failure in Trying Important to recognize:

• Attempting mediation is valuable
• Understanding gained even without resolution
• Seeds planted for future resolution
• Shows good faith effort
• Community appreciates the try

Section 12: Implementation and Follow-Up

Agreement Implementation Parties responsible for:

• Following through on commitments
• Timeline agreed in mediation
• Self-monitoring and accountability
• Reaching out if issues arise

Mediator Follow-Up After agreement:

• Check-in scheduled (typically 30 days)
• Parties report on implementation
• Address any difficulties
• Celebrate successes
• Modify if needed

Community Support If appropriate:

• Community supports implementation
• Resources provided as needed
• Informal monitoring by respected members
• Encouragement and acknowledgment

Section 13: Reconsideration and Follow-Up Mediation

When to Reconvene Follow-up mediation appropriate when:

• New information emerges
• Circumstances have changed
• Agreement proving unworkable
• Commitments not being met
• New conflicts arise from original issue

Requesting Follow-Up Either party may request:

• Contact original mediators
• Contact coordinating organization via @govbot
• Explain need for follow-up
• Reassessment determines if follow-up session needed

Fresh Start or Continuation Follow-up may be:

• Continuation with same mediators
• Fresh process with new mediators
• Modified approach based on learnings
• Focus on specific unresolved elements

Section 14: Information and Privacy

Confidentiality Strong confidentiality protections:

• Case details remain among participants
• Mediators don't share specifics
• Agreements shared only as needed for implementation
• Exceptions only for safety concerns

Community Learning While protecting individuals:

• Aggregated statistics support program evaluation
• Success rates and types of disputes tracked
• Patterns inform mediator training
• No identifying information shared
• Annual reports on mediation program

Record Keeping Bot maintains:

• Mediation requests and responses
• Mediator assignments
• Agreements (confidential access)
• Follow-up schedules
• Anonymized outcome data

Section 15: Cultural Sensitivity and Adaptation

Honoring Tradition This process honors traditional Shalish by:

• Maintaining community-based approach
• Valuing relationship preservation
• Involving respected community members
• Seeking harmonious solutions
• Recognizing collective over individual

Modern Improvements Contemporary adaptations include:

• Voluntary rather than compulsory
• Trained mediators rather than just elders
• Gender equity in mediator selection
• Protection against power abuse
• Focus on consensus not authority
• Structured process with ground rules

Ongoing Evolution Process continues to evolve:

• Community feedback incorporated
• Training updated regularly
• Cultural practices respected
• Modern best practices integrated
• Balance of tradition and innovation

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Implementation Notes for Bot

When supporting Shalish mediation process:

1. Cultural competency - Understand cultural context and traditions
2. Mediator matching - Connect parties with appropriate mediators
3. Process flexibility - Support various formats and pacing
4. Privacy protection - Strong confidentiality for this voluntary process
5. Follow-up facilitation - Enable ongoing support and check-ins
6. Community learning - Track patterns while protecting individuals
7. Resource connection - Link to alternative processes when needed

This process works best when:

• Community values harmony and relationship
• Cultural traditions respected
• Skilled mediators available and trusted
• Voluntary nature genuinely upheld
• Focus on consensus over authority
• Long-term relationships matter more than being "right"
• Community provides supportive context