ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two trends that characterise contemporary judicial work: One is the diminishing of the trial – i.e., the shift to an inquisitorial process or summary trial. The other is the development of new judicial roles related to mediation and conflict resolution. These two trajectories offer different ideals for the development of legal systems, and the chapter discusses them in reference to jurisprudential ideals for the judicial role. Our research of three legal systems – Italy, Israel and England and Wales – uncovers a preference of procedure over substance and an emphasis on the first trajectory, producing a variety of summary trials and trial-avoidance methods.
