Before I came to New Zealand, I had spent six months in Miami, Florida in the United States of America. While I was there during Thanksgiving (24th of November, 1999), Elian Gonzalez was found in the sea and picked up by a fishing boat of the United States (further abbreviated as the U.S.). Elian was placed in his cousin's family, and the relatives started a lawsuit to get the custody over Elian. He has been with his relatives during all the court hearings.
Now eight months later he has been re-united with his father, but he has been emotionally damaged for life.
(In the further essay Elian Gonzalez will be referred to 'Elian' or 'boy.'
President Fidel Castro will be referred to 'Castro.')
I will use the framework of Negotiation to show the case analysis and will end with a conclusion. I will not handle the "Bargaining," while that is not relevant in this case. Everything will be discussed in Negotiation.
"Negotiation is a field of knowledge and endeavor that focuses on gaining the favor of people from whom we want things." (Cohen, 1980)
The relatives decided to negotiate when they decided that they wanted to have custody over Elian.
BATNA's (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)
In this case, there are no real strong alternatives available. Neither of the parties would be happy when the custody over Elian would go to the opposite party. The father considered the alternative of coming himself to the U.S. and to live with his son in the "Country of Freedom." However the Miami relatives would not accept this, such an option would not be considered.
3.1 HOW DOES THE LAW APPLY IN THE ELIAN CASE?
Before I want to write the analysis about the Elian case, I would like to explain some aspects of Law to make the reader understand what chances this case had and also where it went wrong.
1. As soon as the little boy stranded on the beaches of Florida, USA, the press was
Fully into it. Every single day t...