Derecho indígena y medios alternativos de resolución de conflictos

Since their Independence, Latin American States used to integrate western philosophy and legal concepts when designing their constitutional framework. The indigenous rights (also called “customary right” or “indigenous administration of justice”) were ignored and until recently had an inferior legal value. In spite of this, the indigenous right, that forms part of an own philoso-phical and social practice, has been put in practice and recreated during centuries. The funda-mental principles of the indigenous right are its comprehensiveness, the public character of the process, the importance of the spoken word, celerity, and the constant adaptation to new situa-tions. The Alternative Systems of Conflict Resolution like arbitration, negotiation, conciliation and mediation have similar characteristics to the indigenous right, but they have a more limited scope (divorce, disputes for inheritance and properties, return of loan, etc.). The countries of the Andean region still are far from practicing a legal pluralism, although the constitutional recognition of the indigenous rights is a step forward towards the mutual respect and the good functioning of a legal pluralism. The pending task consists in defining basic intercultural rules between indigenous and no indigenous peoples.