The role of the ombudsman is perhaps the least well understood in the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This essay introduces readers to the differing conceptions of the role; the sometimes fractious divide that has existed in the past between “classical” and “organizational” ombudsmen; and a collection of essays by four well‐known practitioners that shed light on what it is ombudsmen do; the kinds of disputes they deal with and how they operate; how they view their role (and how others view it); and both the possibilities and limitations of the ombuds function.

Brophy
,
M.
1998
.
The Ombudsman as a means of dispute resolution
.
Address presented at the annual meeting of the International Bar Association, Section on General Practice, Administrative and Constitutional Law Committee. Vancouver, Canada. September, 1998
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Google Scholar
 
Hill
,
L.B.
1997
.
American ombudsmen and “wannabe” ombudsmen
.
Address presented at the 1997 Spring meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Washington, 18 April 1997
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Google Scholar
 
Menkel‐Meadow
,
C.
2000
.
Introduction essay
.
Mediation: Theory, practice, and policy
New York :
Dartmouth and New York University Press
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Google Scholar
 
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© 2000 Plenum Publishing Corporation. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
2000
Plenum Publishing Corporation
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