Legal luminaries stress on pre-litigation mediation

CHANDIGARH:Supreme Court judge Justice Dipak Misra, Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), has laid stress on the need for giving legislative back-up to pre-litigation mediation and building national and state legal policies on mediation on the second day of Global Pound Conference here at Chandigarh Judicial Academy.

(From left ) Justice AK Sikri along with Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AB Chaudhari during the Global Pound Conference at Judicial Academy, Sector 43, in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo: S Chandan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 13

Supreme Court judge Justice Dipak Misra, Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), has laid stress on the need for giving legislative back-up to pre-litigation mediation and building national and state legal policies on mediation on the second day of Global Pound Conference here at Chandigarh Judicial Academy.

The three-day international event is themed on Sshaping the future of dispute resolution and improving access to justice’. The conference was marked by various sessions chaired by Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Madan B Lokur, and Justice AK Sikri, judges of the Supreme Court of India. He also mentioned that currently the legislation was not equipped for pre-litigation mediation and hoped that mediation would

also be incorporated in the legislative regime in the near future.

Justice Misra stressed the need for innovative techniques like online dispute resolution mechanisms to increase greater outreach to the ultimate consumer of justice delivery services.

In response to the discussions, Justice AK Sikri stressed on the need for the judiciary/judges to realise that in disputes of a commercial nature, the typical adjudicatory process may not be the best. There remains extreme sensitivity in the judiciary to understanding the modes of alternative

dispute resolution as arbitration and mediation as workable solutions.

Justice Madan B Lokur, who chaired the first session, was of the view that there is an inherent need to sensitise the parties to the idea of mediation and strengthen the notion of relationship building. It was felt that in the current legal scenario, lawyers and advocates are the best persons to steer

parties towards effective mediation and the idea of mediation advocacy must not only be developed but embedded in the minds of members of legal fraternity.

The panelists here comprised distinguished judges from various high courts as well as legal practitioners, academicians and students formed an integral part of the participants.