When I visited a friend who also lives nearby, I least expected to learn about how his wife was spear heading a quiet but powerful transformation of the breakdown of the legal system in India: The long waiting time for justice to be dispensed.
Laila Joseph Olapally is the Coordinator of the Mediation Center, an institution which was set up by the previous Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. A lawyer by profession, Laila has received training in the US on mediation and volunteered to be the coordinator when the High Court wanted to set up this dispute resolution tool to alleviate the huge back lo fog cases in the court. She says “the average duration of a case in India is 24 years!” Even the Chief Justice of India, is reported recently in the press as being clueless on solving the “corruption & pendency” issues that plague our legal system.
I asked Laila why should we be excited about mediation as a legal dispute resolution mechanism? She says “The mediation process we follow ends in 60 days. Equally important, a non-appealable decree is issued by the High Court. This is like getting a Supreme Court verdict – all in less than 60 days.”
How is it different from Arbitration, I asked? The reply would be music to people who are litigants “In arbitration, the authority fixes a solution that the parties have to accept it (or not) but in mediation, the parties reach a mutually acceptable settlement. Thus, both are equally happy or unhappy. Arbitration can then be challenged in courts and does not necessarily end the dispute. Mediation does!”
Why would mediation work when the parties are litigating only because they haven’t been able to settle matters between themselves? That’s when Laila shared, anonymously ofcourse, some very interesting examples. But that I will save for later. Each one deserves a piece by itself, as they are fascinating.
She mentioned that in the US some 12% of cases go to court. About 65% are sent to mediation and the balance 23% to Arbitration. That’s how, they manage speedy and effective dispensation of justice – apart, ofcourse, from the effectiveness of their civil and criminal procedure codes. If this were even broadly true for India, the average waiting time for cases in court could come down from 24 years to just 3 years! All using existing infrastructure!
And mediation practically eliminates corruption!
Why is the CJI not looking at giving mediation a real push?