NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said on Friday that he he envisions a transition towards a multi-door courthouse where the court is a comprehensive centre for dispute resolution and not merely a place for trial.
Addressing a conference on ‘Mediation: How significant in the present-day context’, organised by the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER) in South Goa, Justice Kant said mediation is increasingly being accepted as a successful, cost-effective and win-win settlement for both litigating parties. “Mediation is not a sign of the law’s weakness, but rather its highest evolution. It is a true transition from a culture of adjudication to a culture of participation where we cultivate harmony,” he said.
The CJI, however, said that though he is an advocate of mediation, it does not mean that cases coming up before courts will be mechanically referred to mediation. “There is an internal exercise carried out by a team of experts who identify whether a case is suitable for settlement through mediation. Only such matters are referred to mediation,” he said.
The CJI also clarified that courts are prepared to adjudicate disputes on merit when mediation does not succeed. “We have to be mentally prepared that where mediation does not succeed, the matter has to come back to court. We do not shy away from our responsibilities,” the CJI said.
He said that the success of mediation lies in the mediator’s ability to speak not only the local or regional language, but also the dialect, expressions, and cultural idiom of the person for whom the mediation is being conducted.
Asserting the need for mediation training, he said there are 39,000 trained mediators, but there is a gap in demand and supply. Justice Kant emphasised the need for a larger number of mediators from district courts to the apex court. For effective implementation of mediation at all levels, the country needs more than 2,50,000 trained mediators, said the CJI.
The campaign ‘Mediation for Nation’ was launched in July this year to cut judicial pendency by resolving several kinds of disputes, including matrimonial, commercial and motor accidents, he said.