N.
1 (in civil disputes) See ACAS; alternative dispute resolution.
2 A procedure of peaceful settlement of international disputes. The matter of dispute is referred to a standing or ad hoc commission of conciliation, appointed with the parties' agreement, whose function is to elucidate the facts objectively and impartially and then to issue a report. The eventual report is expected to contain concrete proposals for a settlement, which, however, the parties are under no legal obligation to accept. Added impetus to this method of dispute resolution was given by the UN Draft Resolution on Conciliation of Disputes Between States and the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration 1992. Sadly, conciliation failed completely to resolve the disputes arising from the break-up of the former state of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. See also good offices; mediation.
