Mediation As An Alternative To Litigation: An Analysis Of Efficiency, Cost And Access To Justice In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
Disha Agarwal, LL.M., School of Law Justice & Governance, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, U.P.
Dr. Rama Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of Law Justice & Governance, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, U.P.
ABSTRACT
Litigation has been the main way of settling disputes in the Indian justice delivery system. The increasing pendency of cases, delays in the process and the increasing litigation costs have posed serious challenges to the Indian judicial process. To meet these challenges, mediation has become an important form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) which offers an expedient, negotiated and inexpensive process for resolving disputes.
This paper critically examines mediation as an alternative to litigation in India and explores how well mediation works and the challenges that exist in implementing mediation in India.
The study adopts a comparative method to discuss the mediation and litigation under three principles of efficiency, cost and access to justice. It reflects the evolution of mediation in India, from the traditional and informal community-based system of resolving disputes to a legalized system of mediation.
The paper also discusses the statutory and institutional mechanisms and processes that facilitate mediation such as the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, court-annexed mediation centres and the recently enacted Mediation Act, 2023. The paper also reviews the role of the judiciary in creating an enabling environment for mediation, both by landmark judgments and policy changes.
The study concludes mediation can help to save judicial time, process quicker, save the relationship between the parties and equality of justice to the ordinary people. At the same time, it identifies certain factors which are getting in the way of general use of mediation, such as lack of awareness, inadequate infrastructure, inadequate supply of trained mediators and continued use of litigation as the preferred method of dispute resolution.
The paper recommends Mediation and Litigation can be a tool to complement and balance each other in the justice delivery system in India and can provide the expeditious, affordable and effective justice in India. It has brought attention to the need for strengthening of the institutions, awareness and professional training of mediators and the effective implementation of the Mediation Act, 2023 so as to make Mediation more accessible, affordable and speedy, which is a part of the objective of accessible, affordable and speedy justice in India enshrined in the Constitution of India.
