ABSTRACT
Civil procedure establishes an orderly continuum of rules of litigation in the civil justice system. It is best dened as “the sum total of rules, forms, doctrines, and devices” that govern the formal activities of a technical nature in the adjudication of civil disputes (Grilliott 1979, 223). e principal objective of procedural rules is to provide a fair process for ascertaining the truth and delivering substantive justice in civil lawsuits. Procedural rules “should be construed and administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding” (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [FRCP] Rule 1 2015). A number of research studies involving the social psychology of the dispute resolution process have demonstrated the central importance of a litigant’s perception of fundamental fairness in procedure (even when the litigant is disappointed by the substantive outcome) (Tyler 1998; Lind and Tyler 1998). Adherence to the standards of “procedural justice” is crucial to maintain condence in the institutions of dispute resolution. Procedural justice implements the substantive law and provides litigants with a sense of receiving fair treatment before an unbiased and impartial tribunal. Golding has set forth the basic standards of procedural justice as follows:
● Neutrality: No man should be the judge in his own cause; the dispute settler should have no private stake in the outcome; the dispute settler should not be biased in favor of or against any party.
