Conflict and Development

Conflict and development are two concepts with a very tight connection, especially in the relation among peoples, organizations, and countries. First, conflict is a very nature and deniable thing that often occurs in social, economic and political development. What we need is not to avoid or reject conflict, but to manage it effectively, instead. Second, conflict is not always a harmful situation. In fact, in many cases of conflict, it can make societies’ life more dynamic, more vivid, and more mobile. In other words, conflict constitutes the precondition for development. It means that both peace and human security always emerge from the unraveled conflict. In this case, law plays a crucial role as an instrument of dispute resolution.

Furthermore, law is not only important in resolving disputes or conflicts among peoples, but also in fostering investment in the era of free trade and competitive market. The more extensive and more effective of legal rules on investment are, the more conducive economic development of a country will be. That’s why law reform should be completed to promote the quality of all aspects of development.

As an instrument of dispute resolution and development advocacy, law is equipped with institution and mechanism. From the perspective of institution, the existence of International Court of Justice (ICJ), World Trade Organization (WTO), International Center for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID) and other institutions which functions as arbitration agents, can be seen as a serious attempt in yielding a development sense from the conflicts. While from the perspective of mechanism, there are some Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) such as arbitration, conciliation, mediation, and negotiation. Parties engaged in a conflict have freedom to choose what king of institution and mechanism that most appropriate to resolve their quarrel. In the case of parking lot lease for example, the use of Harvard-model negotiation could be the best method, but in other cases, it might need other mechanism to be implemented.

June 19^th, 2002