Hyderabad (TELANGANA), Dec 4: The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Saturday said that going to courts after a dispute should be the “last resort” and suggested exploring options like arbitration, mediation and conciliation.
“My advice, after participating in the legal profession for over 40 years in different capacities, is that you must keep the option of going to courts as a last resort. Use this last resort only after exploring the option of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – arbitration, mediation and conciliation. Arbitration and mediation are efforts at restoring a relationship,” CJI Ramana said.
Speaking at the curtain raiser and Stakeholders’ Conclave of International Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Hyderabad, CJI narrated the story of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, and said that it provides an example of an early attempt at mediation as a conflict resolution tool.
“Lord Krishna attempted to mediate the dispute between the Pandavas and Kauravas. It may be worthwhile to recall that the failure of mediation led to disastrous consequences,” said the CJI.
He further said that there are many reasons for conflicts — misunderstandings, ego issues, trust and greed can lead to conflicts. Ultimately, small differences of opinion can lead to a big conflict and even big conflicts can be resolved with some effort in understanding one other, he further said.
The CJI said the reasons for opting for mediation or arbitration over traditional litigation are manifold, like fewer delays, less expensive, more involvement of the parties in the process, greater party choice, more control, more comfortable and amicable environment for the parties, etc.
He said, “I think that the most important factor behind the resolution of any dispute is having the right attitude. By right attitude, I mean we should leave aside our ego, emotions, impatience and embrace practicality. But, once these conflicts enter a court, much gets lost in the practice and procedure. I do not need to elaborate the benefits of mediation and arbitration to this gathering of domain experts and businesspeople. Dispute resolution mechanisms like arbitration and mediation are nowadays the preferred modes of dispute resolution.”
He said International Arbitration Centers are present in most commercial hubs – Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York, and Stockholm. (ANI)
