Cross-cultural comparison helps place the events of one nation into a framework that takes account of broader historical trends. In the case of courts, the broad trend is apparently toward ever greater concern with speed, cost, and accessibility in processing disputes. Common issues raised in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the United States are barriers to the use of courts to resolve private disputes; control of the pretrial process; and the appropriate balance between the rights of individuals and the organizational imperatives of cost containment, efficiency, and effectiveness. There are two contending models of justice in the reform debates. The first is a due-process model that emphasizes the full-blown ritual of the adversarial process regardless of the time and cost involved. The alternative is a managed model of justice that constrains adversarial excesses in the interest of a more efficient and ultimately fairer process. Although the locus of court concerns varies cross-culturally, all postindustrial nations are experiencing similar pressures to perform with diminishing resources. 28 references.