Mediation has great potential for resolving disputes, says Justice (retd) Sikri

Former Supreme Court judge A K Sikri on Saturday said that mediation has a great potential to provide ways and means for resolving disputes.

"Mediation is going to play an important role and has great potential to provide ways and means for resolving the disputes especially the commercial disputes. The process of mediation presents an amicable and mutually acceptable settlement of the dispute without intervention of adjudication process and also delivers expeditious and cost effective relief to the parties in dispute" Justice Sikri said, while addressing the fourth National Conference on Effectiveness of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for promotion of business, which was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here.

Justice Sikri further said that it is essential for the growth of the economy that the investors are given a conducive regulatory environment and the disputes are resolved in a time-bound manner.

"The existing legal framework needs to be revisited, old and archaic laws which hamper and slow the pace of business should be done away with" he said.

Meanwhile, another former judge of the apex court, Justice (retd) S S Nijjar, said that in a country which aims to protect the socio economic and cultural rights of citizens, it is extremely important to quickly dispose of the cases, as the courts alone cannot handle the huge backlog.

"Improvements are needed in the judiciary, legal system, training methodology and technology. Arbitration laws need to succeed, if the country needs to succeed. This would require sincerity of purpose, commitment, involvement and zealousness among the lawyers as well as the senior arbitrators," Justice Nijjar said.