Mediation to Resolve Disputes Across the Country

Context

Speaking at the launch of the first national mediation convention organised by the Mediation Association of India (MIA), the President stressed on mediation to resolve disputes and lower the burden of courts across the country.

What is Mediation?

• Mediation is a voluntary, confidential, and non-antagonistic procedure wherein a neutral third party helps disputing parties reach a collectively suited solution. 
• It is one of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms along arbitration, negotiation, and conciliation.

Judicial Backlog in India

• India’s judiciary is overburdened with a large backlog of pending cases, causing delays in justice and eroding public opinion.
• As of 2024, over 5.1 crore cases are pending across Indian courts. This consists of about 71,000 cases in the Supreme Court, around 60 lakh cases in the High Courts, and almost 4.5 crore cases in District and Subordinate Courts.
• Out of a sanctioned power of almost 25,000 judges, only about 20,000 are in position, indicating a vacancy rate of around 20%.
• India’s judge-to-population ratio stands at simply 21 judges per million population, that is far beneath the Law Commission’s endorsed ratio of fifty judges in line with million.

Importance of Mediation 

• Reduces pendency: Frees up court dockets by resolving minor civil, matrimonial, and industrial cases early.
• Faster decision: Most cases are settled in some sittings.
• Cost-powerful: Saves both court fees and attorney fees.
• Preserves relationships: Especially beneficial in own family and business disputes.
• Empowers parties: Solution is primarily based on mutual settlement, not judicial imposition.

Legal Provisions and Institutional Support

• Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: Establishes Lok Adalats which use mediation-like methods. Statutory backing free legal aid and ADR.
• Section 89 of CPC (Civil Procedure Code), 1908: Mandates courts to refer disputes for ADR, which includes mediation.
• Mediation Act, 2023: Aims to institutionalize mediation in India.
• Key provisions: Mandatory pre-litigation mediation for civil and industrial cases.
  • Establishment of a Mediation Council of India to institutionalize and regulate mediation throughout the usa. An essential feature of MCI may be to oversee education, evaluation, and certification of mediators. 

Current Commercial Dispute Resolution in India

• Commercial Courts, installation under the 2015 Act, fast-track disputes above ₹3 lakh and promote pre-litigation mediation to ease court burden.
• Arbitration, governed by the 1996 Act (amended in 2015, 2019, 2021), offers binding decisions through neutral arbitrators. It may be ad hoc or institutional (e.g., Indian Council of Arbitration, IIAC).
• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, emphasizes mediation as a speedy, cost-effective, and amicable approach for resolving consumer disputes.
• Internationally, India signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation.

Way Forward

• Strengthen legal framework: Ensure uniform implementation of the Mediation Act, 2023.
• Awareness campaigns: Promote mediation literacy among citizens.
• Capacity building: Train extra mediators and accredit them under a countrywide body.
• Judicial guide: Encourage judges to refer more cases to mediation.
• Digital mediation platforms: Use of ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) for quicker effects.
• Monitoring effects: Create databases to evaluate mediation success and backlog effect.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What are the major changes brought in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 through the recent Ordinance promulgated by the President? How far will it improve India’s dispute resolution mechanism? Discuss. (2015)

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