The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Mediation to resolve disputes "gaining ground"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 04, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Mediation to resolve disputes "gaining ground"

Special Correspondent

Mediation and Conciliation Centre celebrates first anniversary

CHENNAI: As the Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre here prepares to celebrate its first anniversary on Monday, dispute resolution through mediation is becoming popular among lawyers and litigants , according to Justice Karpagavinayagam.

Addressing presspersons to give details of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's participation in the anniversary celebrations, Mr. Justice Karpagavinayagam said trying alternative dispute resolution had become "more or less mandatory," as courts alone could not handle the backlog of 30 million cases in the country.

The mediation centre, established in April 2005 thanks to the efforts of the then Chief Justice, Markandey Katju, had settled 42 cases out of 90 referred to it. Unlike the cases settled in Lok Adalats, those handled by the mediation centre were complicated requiring many sittings, he said.

Mr. Justice Sathasivam said Tamil Nadu was the pioneer in the Lok Adalat movement. Advocates had realised that they were part of the process and that they stood to lose nothing if the matters were settled at the mediation centre. Ever since October 2005 when Justice A.P. Shah became Chief Justice, sitting judges and senior advocates were visiting various districts to give training and spread awareness among the subordinate judicial officers.

Mrs. Justice Prabha Sridevan said mediation was a healing process, which created only a win-win situation. Referring to her interaction with litigants in family courts, she said they had total faith in the process. It is an indigenous mechanism, which had no element of compulsion.

Explaining the functioning of the centre, Sriram Panchu, organising secretary of the centre, said: "The mediator does not decide the case, but facilitates an agreement. The decision-making power is retained by the parties. The process is voluntary, and any party can terminate it without having to give any reason."

The centre takes up civil and commercial disputes, partition and property disputes, and matrimonial litigation. A time limit of 60 days is fixed for completion of mediation.

Senior advocate Aravind Dattar, member of the centre's organising committee, said that in case of failure of mediation, nobody would be to blame. The matter would be referred back to courts with a note, `mediation failed.'

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