The Hindu : Mediation quicker means of settling disputes, say judges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 23, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Mediation quicker means of settling disputes, say judges

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI JUNe 22. Drawing attention to the high number of court cases pending disposal, senior judges, participating in a workshop on alternative disputes resolution (ADR), called for propagation of conciliation and mediation as a quicker, hassle-free means of settling disputes outside courts.

Speakers at the inaugural session suggested that this propagation be targeted primarily at lawyers and judges themselves, as many of them were skeptical of resolving disputes through mediation than through the regular judicial process.

"Lawyers need not be apprehensive that it (the ADR system) will come in the way of their profession," the chairman of the Law Commission of India, Justice M. Jagannadha Rao, told the gathering, adding that in countries such as the United States of America, lawyers earned a good clientele by specialising in mediation.

"In the U.S., most cases are solved through arbitration. Only the rest go to courts," he said, goading lawyers and judges to shed their conservativeness in adopting new systems.

On the need for conciliation and mediation in addition to Lok Adalats, he said the former system would be better equipped to handle cases such as matrimonial and property disputes, which would be time consuming and require a lot of persuasion.

As for financial support to the system, Mr. Jagannadha Rao said that in other countries there was a "considerable funding from governments to pay mediators," and suggested that a similar system be adopted here. "If the State pays well, there will be a considerable enthusiasm from the practitioners to make it a success."

Earlier, the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, B. Subhashan Reddy, apprehensive that conciliation could delay justice, urged authorities to make clear certain provisions of the proposed ADR system. He also blamed the disproportionate judges to population ratio for cases piling up in various courts.

In his inaugural address, the Law Minister, D. Jayakumar, said the Government was committed to extending Lok Adalats and establishing legal clinics and fast track courts. He, however, said creating legal aid cells alone would not solve the problems of the lower sections.

The Madras High Court judge, Justice E. Padmanabhan, said 1.4 lakh cases in the State had been settled through ADR, mostly Lok Adalats, and the value of such settlements amounted to Rs. 682 crores. Of these, at least 12,000 cases involved banks. Three pilot ADR projects would be started in the districts to popularise the system.

The workshop on `ADR - Conciliation, Mediation and Case Management - Pilot Project' was organised by the Madras High Court and the Indian Centre for Mediation and Dispute Resolution.

It included sessions on `The process of mediation', `Indian law on mediation', `Mediation in bank disputes', `Mediation under other enactments', `Training of mediators' and even a role-play.

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