ICRI: State of the States: Hawaii

The State of the States in Environmental Dispute Resolution:
HAWAI'I

Current Projects:	United States Postal Service	Employment Arbitration	Indiana Dept of Env. Management	Indiana ADR Providers	Shared Neutrals Pilot	U.S. Dept. of Justice
Completed Projects:	U.S. Env. Protection Agency	EDR State of States	Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission	National Institutes of Health	Focus Groups Sessions

Status:
Hawai’i’s state-based EDR activities operate primarily out of the Hawai’i State Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (Center). The Center provides ADR services to all three branches of government at the state and county levels. The state has community mediation centers located throughout the islands, which provide volunteer mediators for thousands of cases, including those referred by the courts. Environmental mediation may take place at the Center, at community mediation centers, or in the private sector.

Legal Authority:
HAW. REV. STAT. 壯 613-1 to -4 (1993) (establishing the Center for ADR and mandating that it assist in the resolution of public disputes involving potential court action, complex litigation, and all disputes referred by courts, legislators, agency heads, or appointed government officials).

Contact Information:
     Elizabeth Kent
     Hawai'i State Judiciary’s Center for ADR
     P.O. Box 2560
     Honolulu, HI 96804
     Phone: (808) 522-6464
     Fax: (808) 522-6440
     E-mail: ekent@hawaii.edu

Program Summary

Hawai'i State Judiciary’s Center for ADR:
The Center does the following: (1) designs dispute resolution systems for the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government (state and county); (2) mediates and facilitates public policy disputes; (3) manages the judiciary’s Purchase of Services contract with the community mediation centers; and (4) provides ADR training and education to state and county agencies. The Center was established with technical and financial support from the National Institute of Dispute Resolution in 1985; enabling legislation was passed in 1989. There are currently five paid positions at the Center. The Center focuses on the following: (1) public policy issues, including environmental issues; (2) building dispute resolution capacity in state and county government; and (3) increasing ADR programs and options in state and county government. The community mediation centers focus on resolution of individual disputes; although, they also work on program design.

Further Information

Publications

Hawai’i State Judiciary’s Ctr. for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Annual Report: Hawai’i State Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Hawai’i State Government (1998) (published annually from 1991–1998).

Further information about Hawai’i state judiciary is available at the following Website: http://www.hawaii.gov/jud

Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Last updated: June 1999
Comments: ICRI Administrator
Copyright 1999 - Indiana University, Bloomington