CJI Kant pitches for ‘multi-door courthouse’ to aid mediation
Says country needed over 2,50,000 trained mediators
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday said that mediation was increasingly being accepted as a successful, cost-effective and win-win settlement for both litigating parties. He was speaking after taking part in a symbolic walk for ‘Mediation Awareness’ near Kala Academy in Panaji.
Addressing the inaugural session of the Bar Council of India’s National Conference and Symposium on Mediation in South Goa, he further said that he envisioned a transition towards a multi-door courthouse, where the court is a comprehensive centre for dispute resolution and not merely a place for trial.
“We must acknowledge that there are bound to be some cases that cannot be resolved through arbitration or mediation. Therefore, the judicial system will always be prepared for fair litigation trials to adjudicate those disputes,” he said. The CJI said the multi-door court concept was the “ultimate empowerment of litigants”.
The CJI said there was a need for a larger number of mediators across all levels, from district courts to the apex court.
Asserting that mediation, which could reduce judicial pendency, was not a sign of the law’s weakness but its highest evolution, the CJI said that when a seeker of justice approaches a court, they must find the doors to mediation, arbitration and ultimately litigation, each tailored to the specific nature of their grievance.
After giving the ‘Oath of Mediation’ to all the participants at the event, the CJI said that mediation was a cause that he held dear to his heart with deep conviction.
“Litigation is often the autopsy of a dead relationship and clinical exam of what went wrong. Mediation, on the contrary, is the remedial surgery that seeks to preserve the living pulse of a connection. To truly grasp the significance of mediation in our present context, we might look at a piece of local wisdom,” he said.
Asserting the need for mediation training, he said there were 39,000 trained mediators, but there was a gap in “demand and supply”. For effective implementation of mediation at all levels, the country needed over 2,50,000 trained mediators, said the CJI.
