Znaczenie przeprosin w rozwiązywaniu sporów prawnych. Przykłady uregulowań prawnych i orzecznictwa dotyczącego przeprosin w systemie common law
Meaning of Apology in Conflict Resolution of Legal Disputes: Examples of Regulations and Court Decisions Concerning Apology in the Common Law System

Summary/Abstract: Apology is a mechanism which is hard to describe and define. It is a phenomenon known from our everyday life experience. In most situations people think about apology in a psychological or axiological context. Although apology shows how important feelings of forgiveness and repentance are for people, apology also has a legal meaning. Recently, due to a wider application of the alternative dispute resolution in legal systems, apology has become an interesting research subject particularly in cases of medical malpractice, family disputes, and disputes in labour law, as well as product liability, since application of apology may have meaningful legal consequences. Many authors suggest that apology may have a positive influence on resolution of legal conflicts and disputes. As a consequence, apology may result in resignation from bringing a formal complaint and in effect decrease the number of court claims, thereby reducing the level of conflict between the parties, and causing more creative and constructive negotiation. Benefits of apology have meaning not only in making strategic and procedural decisions, but also result in calming emotions, repairing of relationships, and fulfilling the need for justice or bringing social harmony. However, in many situations apology may be interpreted as admitting an error and cause legal liability. The problem with apology is such that it may have many benefits for the related parties in changing the approach to the conflict and the other party, but on the other hand it may also encourage a legal claim, because one party may believe that the other was at fault. This article discusses how apology may positively influence conflict resolutions in legal matters, why lawyers in most cases advise their client not to apologize and why this traditional attitude needs to be differentiated and changed. It also discusses legal regulation (apology laws) and court decisions in selected common law countries (the US, Canada, Australia) concerning this particular subject.

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