A Treatment Guideline for resolving neighbour justice issues

HiiL produces Treatment Guidelines that can help justice workers decide how best to assist people when they experience a conflict. Our latest Guideline, informed by evidence-based practices, presents recommendations on interventions for resolving conflicts among neighbours.

Many cultures and communities around the world encourage us to form good ties with our neighbours. However, disputes between and among neighbours are a reality of life. All too often neighbours must contend with noise, pets and animals, rowdy children, boundaries, and even visual annoyances such as property appearance and trash. So how can we deal with these issues in a way that delivers good outcomes for all parties?

HiiL has put together sets of recommended interventions drawn from international literature for resolving neighbour disputes. They are based on empirical research in the fields of psychology, communications, criminology, and conflict resolution. 

Justice problems, much like diseases, afflict every person around the world regardless of race, ethnicity, age or sex. Our Guidelines offer practical approaches on ‘what works’ to help justice workers better address people’s urgent justice needs.

“The justice sector is ready for new ways of sharing, acquiring, and applying knowledge about what works when it comes to solving legal problems,” said Martin Gramatikov, HiiL’s Director of Measuring Justice. “An evidence-based approach to justice provides a path forward.”

The recommendations can be found in our Treatment Guideline for addressing problems between neighbours features 11 recommendations so far. Each recommendation is linked to building blocks or types of interventions including prevention, communication, resolving, and aftercare. These shared practices can help people reach fair solutions.

Dive deeper into the Guideline for resolving problems between neighbours.


Further Reading