The ultimate goal in conflict resolution is to reach just or equitable results when disputes arise among members of society. A civilized society wants to discourage self-help and the attendant physical violence that often results from disputing parties being left to resolve their own disputes. A judicial tribunal acts as a neutral party that can reach an unimpassioned decision that resolves the dispute. Despite this laudable goal, a system organized solely around a desire to produce equitable resolutions between disputing parties has certain consequences for society as a whole. First, the system would tend to produce unpredictable results.
Every dispute involves unique facts and a unique cast of parties.
Therefore, it would be difficult to predict an outcome in a given dispute based on the resolutions of prior disputes between other parties. This unpredictability would have significant societal costs. Individuals and especially commercial enterprises would have difficulty adjusting their behavior to comport with the existing state of the law in order to avoid becoming embroiled in legal disputes. The resulting increase in disputes would only further strain an already overburdened legal system. In light of this unpredictability, our legal system has evolved a structural framework of rules that govern relations among individuals and between individuals and the State.