British conflict resolution insists on procedural fairness. Parties should have opportunity to present their side and be heard. Process should not be rigged. Resolution that emerges from fair procedure has legitimacy; resolution imposed without fair process generates legitimate grievance regardless of how reasonable the outcome might seem.
This is not bureaucratic obsession but recognition that how resolution is reached matters. The party who has had fair opportunity to be heard can accept adverse outcomes more readily than one who was railroaded. “Fair play” in conflict resolution means giving everyone fair opportunity and following agreed procedures, not gaming the system for advantage.
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