What are the disadvantages of Christian conciliation?
Christian conciliators do not have the same authority as civil judges. Therefore, they cannot compel parties to submit a dispute to conciliation or to cooperate with the process once it begins. (Once there is an agreement to use arbitration, a civil judge has the authority to compel a reluctant party to proceed with the process.) Conciliation can be less predictable than litigation, because each case has different conciliators and the process is less constrained by procedures, statutes, and case precedents. Therefore, results achieved through conciliation may differ substantially from the outcome of litigation or secular mediation or arbitration. (For example, the biblical command to keep one’s word may obligate a person to honor a contract that might otherwise be rescinded on technical legal grounds.) Finally, there are only limited grounds for appealing arbitrated decisions. Therefore, parties will have little opportunity to have a decision reviewed by a higher authority. (At the sam
Christian conciliators do not have the same authority as civil judges. Therefore, they cannot compel parties to submit a dispute to conciliation or to cooperate with the process once it begins. (Once there is an agreement to use arbitration, a civil judge has the authority to compel a reluctant party to proceed with the process.) Conciliation can be less predictable than litigation, because each case has different conciliators and the process is less constrained by procedures, statutes, and case precedents. Therefore, results achieved through conciliation may differ substantially from the outcome of litigation or secular mediation or arbitration. (For example, the biblical command to keep one’s word may obligate a person to honor a contract that might otherwise be rescinded on technical legal grounds.) Finally, there are only limited grounds for appealing arbitrated decisions. Therefore, parties will have little opportunity to have a decision reviewed by a higher authority.
