ORDER, I say ORDER in the CyberCourt

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Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have created an electronic platform for mediation and arbitration to resolve legal conflicts without the need for a judge’s services, and which is aimed at individuals with disabilities.

Mediation is a legal form for resolving conflicts where the judge or referee is substituted by a mediator, in charge of helping both sides come to a consensual agreement. The SEMADISC (Electronic System for Mediation and Arbitration for Disabled Persons) project seeks to offer a software tool for intermediation and arbitration focused on individuals with limited mobility or with some sort of disability.

This project came about thanks to the synergies of the UC3M Colmenarejo Campus, in which professors and researchers from different areas of knowledge work together Specifically, this multi-disciplinary project, halfway between law and computing engineering, was created by researchers from the Artificial and Applied Intelligence Group (GIAA) and the UC3M 'Bartolomé de las Casas' Institute of Human Rights. The principal idea of the system is to offer the adequate means so that any person, especially individuals with a disability, can access a free and universal service with which they can resolve and discuss their problems in a comfortable and pacific way. "This is an accessible electronic tool that allows individuals with disabilities to enjoy the same autonomy and independence when exercising their rights as an individual without disabilities, so that the person with the disability does not have to depend on a third person”, commented one of the creators of this system, Miguel Ángel Patricio, from the GIAA.

This is a novel idea, this software, is a milestone for people with disabilities IMO. This project could lead to other developments such as tools for teachers with disabilities, or anyone with the mental capability to perform a task but lack the physical capability. Bravo to the researchers of GIAA and UC3M.

[edit on 5/5/2010 by UberL33t]