CLI

NICALCOURSE-I

TOPIC
ADR&ARBI TRATIONAS
MECHANI SM OF
ALTERNATEDI SPUTE
RESOLUTION”

SUBMI
TEDTO:PROFSUKESHMI
SHRA
SUBMI
TEDBYMANI
KKAPOOR
ROLLNO:16BLW008
7TH Semest
er4TH Year
,

1
RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

RESEARCHQUESTI
ON

1.Whatar
ethet
ypesofADRmodel
sint
hel
egal
syst
em?

2.Expl
ainar
bit
rat
iongr
eat
ly?

3.Whati
sar
bit
rar
yagr
eement
?

4.Pr
ocedur
etoapoi
ntar
bit
rat
or?

SCOPE&LI
MITATI
ON

Thescopeoft
hispaperex
tendst
oAmer
ican,
Bri
ti
shandI
ndi
anl
aw.

HYPOTHESI
S

Thispaperaimsatthequest
ionofdi
ffer
entt
ypesofADRmodel
sandal
socr
it
ical
l
yanal
yzes
thecontr
astofar
bit
rat
ionasmechani
sm ofADR.

OBJECTI
VES

Thispaperat
temptstocar
veoutacl
earpi
ctur
eoftypesofADRmodel
sandit
scontr
asts.This
paperaimstocri
ti
call
yanal
yzet
helawsandconceptsofmodel
sofADR.Thi
spaperanalyzes
theoutcomesofvari
ousADRmodels.

2
 CONTENTS
I
ntr
oduct
ion
Ki
ndsofADR
Expl
anat
ion
Amendmentt
oSec11by2015amendmentact
Ar
bit
rat
ioncounci
lofI
ndi
a
Appoi
ntmentofAr
bit
rat
ors
Lengt
hoft
heAr
bit
ral
proceedi
ng
Conf
ident
ial
i
ty
Ar
bit
rat
orI
mmuni
ty
Ther
oleofcour
tsi
nar
bit
rat
orappoi
ntment
s
Thescopeoft
hear
bit
rat
ionagr
eement
Pr
obl
em oft
hecour
ts

3
Acknowl
edgement

I
nper
for
mingt
hisassi
gnment
,Ihadt
otaket
hehel
pandgui
del
i
neofsomer
espect
edper
sons,
whodeser
vemygr
eat
estgr
ati
tude.Thecompl
eti
onoft
hisassi
gnmentgi
vesmemuchpl
easur
e.
Iwoul
dli
ket
oexpandmydeepestgr
ati
tudet
oal
lthosewhohav
edi
rect
lyandi
ndi
rect
lygui
ded
mei
nwr
it
ingt
hisassi
gnment
.
naddi
I t
ion,
at hanky outowhoi nt
roducedmet ot
hemet hodologyofwor k,
andwhosepassion
forthesubj
ecthadal asti
ngef f
ect.
.
Manypeople, especial
lymycl assmates,havemadevaluablecommentsuggest i
onsonthi
s
proposalwhichgav emeani nspir
ati
ontoimprovemyassi gnment.Ithankall
thepeopl
efor
thei
rhelpdir
ectlyandi ndi
rectl
ywhohav ehel
pedincompletingt
hisassignment.

Mani
kkapoor

4
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Itis a known factthata man is a socialani

mal,due tot he i
nher
entdesir
eto
communi cateandexpr esshi
sthought
s,mani nv
entedlanguage.Thoughhedidnot
percei
vet hatthi
slanguagewoul
dbet hei nstr
umentofmi sunder
standi
ng,i
tdidhel
p
bri
ngouthi sdesi
retocomplai
n.

I
tisnotsurpr
isingwhenwesayt hateverypersonhashi sownwayofdoi ngthi
ngs,t
his
i
sduetot hefactthatpeoplehavedif
ferentl
evelsofunderst
anding.Duetot
hisdif
fer
ent
l
evelofunderstandingtheirwantsandneedsar ediff
erent
,excludi
ngthebasi
cneeds
whicharesimilartoeveryone.Thisdif
ferentlevelofunderst
andingandwayofdoi ng
t
hingshasmademant oinventt
hewor d“CONFLI CT”.

Ther
eareconf
li
ctsineachandever
yhome.Aconfl
i
cti
sj ustanassert
ionofdi
ff
erent
vi
ewsofpeopl
e.Thequest
ionwhi
chnowar
isesi
showtoresolvet
hisconfl
i
ct.

I
nearl
ierti
mesnooneknowshowconfli
ctswereresol
ved,butourancientscr
ipt
uresdo
t
hrow l
ightastohow t
heseconf
li
ctswer er
esolved.Thesescr i
ptur
esshowcaset he
ment
alit
yofpeopl
e,ast
ohowtheyi
ntendedtoreachtoanami cablesett
lement.

InTheRamayanaAngadhasonofValiappr
oachedRavanaanddeliv
eredthemessage
ofLordRamatooptt
hepathofpeacef
ulset
tl
ement.Ev
eni nMahabharat
a,Lor
dKri
shna
endeavor
edt
omediatebet
weenthePandavasandKauravas.

Theref
orei
tcaneasilybesaidthatthement ali
tyofpeopletoresol
vedisput
eswere
thr
oughamicabl
esettl
ements.Thi
spr oj
ectwilldi
vul
geintotheint
ri
caci
esofconf
li
cts
andthewayswhichhavebeenfor
mulatedtoresolvesuchdi
sputes.

I
twouldbeper
ti
nentt
oquot
eEmi
nentJur
istNaniPal
ki
wal
aint
hecont
extoft
his
pr
oject
.

“
Ifl
ongev
ityofl
i
tigat
ioni
smadeani
tem i
nOl
ympi
cs,nodoubtt
heGol
dwi
l
lcomet
o
I
ndi
a”.

5
Backgr
ound:Set
tl
ementofdi
sput
esdur
ingAnci
entt
imes.

InRomanl aw,ther
ewasnost ruggl
et oest
abli
shthej
uri
sdict
ionofor
dinarycourt
sas
againstri
valtr
ibunal
’
s.Accordingl
y,contr
actsforsubmissi
ons ofdisputes t
ot he
decisionofpersonswer
er ecognized,and t
herewererulesast otheireff
ectand
1
enforcement.

Disput
eswer esettl
edbythemethodofarbit
rati
oninGreecedur
ingthesixt
hcent ur
yB.C.
Thedi sput
esincludedboundar
yf i
xati
on,tit
let ocol
oniesandl and,assessmentof
damagest hatoccurredduetohosti
leinvasionmonetarycl
aimsbet weenstatesand
2
rel
igi
ousmat t
ers.

Ev
eninIndi
aduringt
heVedicper
iodYajnav
alky
aandNar
adhav
eref
err
edt
ovar
ious
gr
adesofar
bit
rat
orsi
nanci
entI
ndi
a,suchas.

a)Puga:aboar
dofpersonsbel
ongi
ngt
odi
ff
erentsect
sandt
ri
bes,butr
esi
dent
s
ofthesamel
ocal
i
ty

b)Sreni,bel
ongi
ngtodiff
erentsect sandtribesorassembl i
esandmeet i
ngsof
tr
adesmenandarti
sansbel ongingtodiff
erenttri
bes,buthavi
ngsomeki ndof
connect
ionwit
honeanotherthroughtheprofessi
onpract
icedbythem .

c)TheKul
aormeet
ingsofki
nsmenorassembl
agesofr
elat
ions.

Therewashi erar
chyinappealsalso.From t
hedecisi
onr
ender
edbyKula,anappeall
ay
toSreniandfrom thedeci
sionrenderedbySrenit
oPugaandfrom t
hedecisi
onofPuga
3
totheking’
sjudgeandalsot othekinghimsel
f.

Thereforeitcan ri
ghtlybe sai
dt hatthe pr
ocess ofdisput
e sett
lementwas not
adversari
alasitexi
stsinthepresentti
me,butitwasorientedtowardstheami
cable
resol
utionoft
hedispute.

1
Jur
ispr
udencebyPound,
1959Edi
ti
on,
Vol
5p.
360
2
ADR–Edi
tedbyP.
C.RaoandWi
l
li
am Shef
fi
eld.
3
P.
V. Hi
Kane, st
oryofDhar
mashast
ra,
Vol
.I
II
,(1946)p.
242

6
ConceptofADR

Humanconf l
ictarei
nevi
tabl
e. Di
sputesareequallyinevi
tabl
e.I
tisdif
fi
culttoi
magine
ourhumansoci et
ywit
houtconfli
ctofint
erest
s.Disputesmustberesolvedatmini
mum
possi
blecost
sbot hi
ntermsofmoneyandt ime,sothatmor eti
meandmor eresour
ces
aresparedf
orconstr
ucti
vepursuit
s.

Forresolut
ionofdisputesthereisal egalsy
stem inev eryl
egalsoci
ety,ev
eryinjured
personissupposedtogot ocourt
sf orhi
sredressal
.Allthel
egalsyst
emsar etr
yingt o
att
ainal egali
dealthatwhenev erthereisawr ong,theremustbear emedy.Sot hat
nobodyshallhavet
ot akelawintohisownhands.

Inpursui
tofredr
essalwhi
chwoul
dresol
vethedi
sput
eatmini
mum possi
blecost
s,both
i
nt erms ofmoney and t i
me.Thus,began t
he sear
ch f
oran alt
ernat
ivetot he
conventi
onal
courtsyst
em.

Al argenumberofquasi -
judici
alandadmi nistrati
vet r
ibunalshav ebeencr eat
edf or
quickerr el
ief.Thesetr
ibunalsandf orumsarei nawayanal t
ernati
vemet hodofdispute
redressal.Butev ensucht r
ibunal
sandf or
umshav ebecomeov ercr
owdedwi tht he
resultthatt heyarenotabl etoproviderel
i
efwi thingoodt ime.Consumerf orumscame
i
ntobei ngt opr ovi
dequick,effect
iveandcostl
essr el
ieft
obuy ersofgoodsandhi rer
sof
services.Per sonssuffering from poorqualityofmer chandizeand ser v
icesint he
mar kett urned outt o be gr eatin numbert hatconsumerr edressalforums and
commi ssionshav epr
ov edtobei nadequat
etot hev olumeofcompl ai
nts

Therethusremainsaneedf oranalt
ernati
veremedywhichwillnotbeletdownbycost s
anddel ay
s.Therefor
et hi
ssear chforandal ter
nati
vemet hodofdi sput
er esolut
ion
shouldculminat
einar emedyinwhicht her
eisminimum rol
eofof fi
cialauthori
ti
esand
wherethefocusisondeliv
eringj
usti
ceandnotont echni
cali
ti
esofthepr ocedurall
aws.

Thenew mentali
tyofdisputesett
lementshouldincul
cateinthepr
esentl
egalsyst
em
thei
deaofr educi
nghost i
l
itybet
weenpar t
ies,regai
ningasenseofcontr
ol,r
esolv
ing
conf
li
ctsin a peacef
ulmanner ,and achi
eving a great
ersense ofj
ust
ice i
n each
i
ndiv
idual
case.

The Judici
alsyst
em devel
oped by t
he Bri
ti
shers was ver
y expensi
ve and t
ime
consumingandduetot
hesereasonst
hepeopl
e’sfai
thonsuchlegalsyst
em wasbei
ng

7
di
minished.Af
tert
heindependenceitwasreal
i
zedthatt
herei
sneedt
ohavesuchan
al
ter
nativemeansofdisput
eresolv
ingsyst
em ormachi
nerywhi
chmaybeeconomi
cal
I
nter
nat
ionalScenar
io.

A bri
efl ookatt heinternati
onalscenari
or evealsthepopul
arit
yoft heuseofADR
methodsf ordisputeresol ut
ion.IntheNati
v eAmer i
cancult
ure,peace-
makingist he
pri
marymet hodofpr oblem sol v
ing,moreconcil
iator
ythanmediati
on,peacemakingis
concerned wit
h sacred j ust
ice.Disput
es are handled i
n a waywhi ch deal
s with
4
underl
yingcausesofconf li
ctandmendsr el
ationshi
ps.

Medi ati
on wasused i n china and japan asprimarymeansofconf l
i
ctresol
uti
on.
Medi ati
onwasf ir
stchoi
ceofdi sputesettl
ement.Chi
na’spr
inci
pleuseofmediati
onwas
adi rectresul
toft heConf uci
anv iew ofnaturalharmonyanddi sputeresol
uti
onby
mor alsratherthancoercion.Chinesmedi ati
onboar dsandcommi tteesmadeupof
severalindivi
dualsfrom eachl ocalcommuni tyresolv
emor et han80% ofal lcivi
l
disputes.

InJapan,conci
liat
ionwashi stor
ical
lythepr i
marymeansofdi sput
er esolutionwith
vil
l
agereadersservingasmedi at
or.Curr
entJapanesenegot i
ationstylestil
lplacesan
emphasisont her elati
onshi
pandi sof tenregardedasapur el
yconci l
iatorystyl
e.
Inf
ormaldisput
er esoluti
onwasusedi nmanyot hercult
uresaswel l
.Fore. g.,I
ndia,
Afri
ca,I
srael
iKibbutzim.TheADRofi nformalmet hodsofdisput eresoluti
onpl aces
emphasisonpeaceandhar monyoverconfli
ct,
li
ti
gati
onandv i
ctory.

I
nUSAmediati
onasamethodofdi
sput
er esol
uti
onwasusedi nanad-
hocwaysi
ncea
l
ongt
ime,
thought
heli
ti
gat
ionwast
heprimarymet hodofdi
sputer
esol
uti
on.

“
Likeol
dcl
ocks,
ourj
udi
cialsy
stemsneedt
obeoi
l
ed,
woundupandsett
otr
uet
ime”
.
5
Thesewer
ethewor
dsofLor
dWol
f whi
chgi
vecol
ort
otheconceptofADR.

4
TheJudgespeaks:
DrJust
iceA.
R.Lakshmanan
5
Chi
efJust
iceofEngl
and

8
Ov
erv
iewofADR

ADRgi vespeopl eani nvolvementintheprocessofr esolvi

ngthei
rdisputethatisnot
possiblein a public,formaland adv er
sari
aljustice syst
em bri
stl
ed with abstr
use
proceduresandr econdi t
el anguageofthelaw.I toffersawider angeofchoi cesin
met hod,procedure,cost,represent
ati
onandl ocat
ion.Itisoft
enqui ckert
hanj udi
cial
proceedingsandhel pstoeasebur densonthecourts.

Thet echniqueofADR i sanef for

tt odesi
gnawor kabl
eandf airal
ter
nati
vetoour
tr
adit
ionalj udicialsystem.Itisaf astt
racksystem ofdispensi
ngjusti
ce.Ther
ear e
vari
ousADRt echni quesv i
z.arbi
tr
ati
on,mediat
ion,conci
li
ati
on,mediati
on-
arbi
tr
ati
on,
mini-
tri
al,
pr iv
at ejudging.

Theset echni
queshav ebeendev elopedonsci ent
ificl
inesinUSA,UK,Fr
ance,Canada,
China,Japan,SouthAf r
ica,Austr
ali
aandSi ngapore.ADRhasemer gedasasi gni
fi
cant
mov ementi nthesecount r
iesandhasnotonl yhel pedreducecostandti
met akenfor
resolut
ionofdisputes,butalsoinprovi
dingacongeni alatmospher
eandal essformal
andlesscompl icat
edforum forvari
oustypesofdisputes.

Theadv ant
ageofADRi sthatitismoref l
exi
bleandav oi
dsseekingrecoursetot
he
courts.I
nconci
li
ati
on/mediati
on,part
iesarefr
eet owithdr
aw atanyst ageofti
me.It
hasbeenseent hatresolut
ionofdisputesisquickerandcheaperthroughADR.The
part
iesinvol
vedinADR donotdev elopstrai
nedr el
ati
ons;r
athertheymai nt
aint
he
conti
nuedrel
ati
onshi
pbetweent hemselv
es.

ADR t echniques ar e ext rajudiciali n character.They can be used i n almostal l

cont entiousmat terswhi char ecapabl eofbei ngr esolved,underl aw,byagr eement
bet weent hepar ties.Theyhav ebeenempl oyedwi t
hv ariousencour agingr esul tsin
sev eralcat egori
es ofdi sputes,especi all
y civ i
l
,commer cial,industrialand f amil
y
disput es.Inparticulartheset echniqueshav ebeenshownt owor kacr osst hef ullrange
ofbusi nessdisput es:banki ng,contracts,performanceandi nterpret
at i
on;const r ucti
on
cont racts,Int
ell
ect ualpr oper tyrights,insurancecov erage,jointv entures, partner shi
p
differences,per sonali njury,productl i
abil
ity,professionall i
abi l
i
ty,r ealest at e and
secur iti
es. ADR of f
erst hebestsol uti
on inr espectofcommer ci
aldi sputesofan
6
i
nt ernationalchar acter.Thet raditi
onalat ti
tudeofourcour t
st owar dsar bi
tr
at i
onhad
6
P.
C.Rao:
Alt
ernat
ivet
oli
ti
gat
ioni
nIndi
a,ADR-
Edi
tedbyP.
CRaoandWi
l
li
am Shef
fi
eld

9
beenpater
nal
i
stical
mostschool-
masterl
y;andwit
hint
ernati
onalarbit
rat
iont
her
ewasa
7
gener
all
yalur
kingsuspi
cionofarev
ival
offorei
gndominanceinIndia.

Ki
ndsofADR

Awi derangeofdisput
epr ev
enti
onandr esol
utionpr
oceduresexistinIndi
athatall
ow
thepart
ici
pant
st odevelopafair
,cost
-eff
ecti
ve,andpri
vat
ef orum toresol
vedisput
es.
AllADRmechanismsav ail
abl
einthecountr
ycanbebroadlydiscussedattwolevel
s:

1)Thosewhi
char
eappl
i
cabl
ethr
oughoutt
hecount
ry&

2)Thosewhichareav ai
l
ableatt
hest
ate/UTl
evelt
odealwi
thspeci
fi
cpr
obl
ems
ar
isi
ngunderthei
rjur
isdi
cti
on.

TYPESOFADRMACHENI
SM

1.Tr
ibunal
s,commi
ssi
ons,
boar
ds,
etc.

2.LokAdal
ats

3.Ny
ayaPanchay
ats

4.Ar
bit
rat
ion

5.Conci
l
iat
ion

6.
Negot
iat
ion

7.Ombudsman

8.FastTr
ackCour
ts

Tr
ibunal
s

Thetri
bunal
s, asalter
nativef
orum ofdisputeadjudicati
on,ar
equicker,
economi cal,and
l
essformalandpossessexper t
iseinasubj ectcompar edtothecourt
s.Theydi scharge
thequasi
-j
udicialfuncti
ons.Theprocedurei ntheset r
ibunal
sisnottypicaladversari
al,
butlawyersar eper mit
tedtor epresentthepar ti
esandappealmayl ieagainstt he
deci
sionofthet r
ibunaleit
hert
ot hehighcour tort
heSupr emeCourt,aspr ov
idedbyt he
7
F.
S.Nar
iman:
Arbi
tr
ati
onandADRi
nIndi
a

10
st
atutes.Tri
bunaldi
sposal
sar
eofv
itali
mpor
tanceasi
tinv
olv
esr
evenuet
othet
uneof
mil
li
onofr upees

2.LokAdal
ats

I
nr ecentt i
mes,LokAdal atsasanADRhasgai nedmoment um.LokAdal atmeans
peopl e’scourt
,incont r
astt ot heregularlaw courtsestabl
ishedbyt hegovernment.In
1980,aCommi t
teeatthenat ionallevelwasconst it
utedtoov erseeandsupervi
selegal
aidpr ogramst hroughoutthecount ryundert hechairmanshipofaj udgeoftheSupreme
Cour tofI ndi
a.Thi s Commi tt
ee came t o be known as CI LAS (Commi tt
ee for
I
mpl ementing LegalAi d Schemes)and i tst ar
ted moni t
ori
ng legalaid activ
iti
es
throughoutt hecount r
y.Thisgav ebi r
tht oLokAdal ats.Theintr
oducti
onofLokAdal ats
addedanew chapt ertot hej usti
cedi spensationsy st
em inI ndi
aandsucceededi n
prov i
dingasuppl ementaryf orum t othel i
tigantsforconcili
atorysett
lementoft hei
r
disput es.

In1987LegalSer vicesAut horit

iesActwasenact edtogi veast at utoryst at
ust ot he
i
nst i
tuti
on ofLokAdal at.Chapt erVIoft he Actcont ainsprov isionspr ovidi
ng for
organizationofLokAdal ats; thepowerandf unctionsoft heLokAdal atandt heeffectof
8
theawar dmadebyt heLokAdal at.Undersect i
on19oft hisAct,any bodycangethi s
disputer eferredt oLokAdal atfori t
ssettlementt hr
oughmedi ationandconci l
iati
on.
Onceacompr omiseorset tlementi sarr
ivedatbef or
et heLokAdal at,thent heawar d
basedt her eon, acquir
esthef orceofadecr eeofaci vi
lcourt.I
tattainsf inali
tyandbi nds
thepar ti
est ot hedi sput
e.TheActf orbi
dsf i
li
ngofappealt oanycour tagainstsuchan
awar dexceptont hegr oundoff raud.Thus,t hedi sputeget sr esolv edoncef orall
ensur i
ngment alpeacetot hepar t
ies.Thepar t
iesar enotr equi
redt opayanycour tfee
orengageal awy er.

TheLokAdal atsdecidethedisputewi t
hutmostexpedi ti
ont oar r
iveatacompr omiseor
sett
lementont hebasisofpri
nciplesofjustice,equi
ty,f
airplayandot herl
egalpri
nciples.
WhenLokAdal atisnotabletoar ri
veatacompr omiseorset t
lement,therecordoft he
caseisret
urnedt othecourt,
whi chreferr
edt hecaset otheLokAdal ats.TheLokAdal at
i
spr esi
dedov erbyasi tti
ngorr eti
redjudicialoffi
cerast hechai r
man,wi t
ht woot her
member s,
usual l
yalawyerandasoci alworker.

Experi
enceshowsi
tiseasi
ert
osett
lemoneyclai
msi nLokAdalat.I
nrecentti
mesthe
conceptofLokAdal
athasgainedpopul
ari
ty.Pr
isonLokAdalat,Prov
identFundLok

8
Legal
ser
viceAut
hor
it
iesAct

11
Adalat,LabourLaw Adal
at,etc.
,arebeingor gani
zedal
mostev er
ydayinonepar tor
otheroft hecount
ry,tosett
ledisputes.Sof ar
,LokAdalathassett
ledmorethan15
mill
ioncases.PermanentLokAdal athasbeenest abl
i
shedandhav ej
uri
sdi
cti
ont o
handlecasesrel
ati
ngtothepublicuti
li
tyser
vices.

3.Ny
ayaPanchay
ats

InIndiaPanchay atsar einexistencesi nceanci enttimes.I nvil

lages,t
headmi ni
strati
on
wascar r
iedoutbyaPanchay atheadedbyv i
ll
ageheadmanwhoamongot hers,wer e
decidingpet tyci
v i
l
, cri
mi nalandrev enuecases.Ther espectabl
emember soft hev il
l
age
communi tyformedt hePanchay at,wher et hefiv
epr eferredonesamongstt hem usedt o
resolvethedi sputesbyapr ocessofconci li
ati
onandmedi ati
on.Panchayat ’
sdeci si
ons
wer egener al
lyhonor edandaccept edbyt hev i
l
lagecommuni t
y.Inthepre-
Br i
tishper i
od,
thePanchay atformedt hekey -
stoneoft hev i
ll
agear ch.Howev er,duri
ngtheBr i
ti
shr ule
Panchay atwer enotper mitt
edt of unctionasaut onomousandsel f-
suffi
cientbodi es.
AfterIndiabecamei ndependentPanchay at swererev ivedandi tbegantofunct i
oni nall
states.

ThefunctionsofPanchayatscoverawidesphereofacti
vi
ti
es,whi
chmaybecl assif
ied
underf ourbroad categori
es (i
)civic ameni
ti
es;(i
i
)socialwelfar
e act
ivi
ti
es;( i
ii
)
devel
opmentwor k;and( i
v)judi
cialf
uncti
onssuchasresol
uti
onofpettyci
vi
l,cri
minal
9
andrevenuecases.

The di spensati
on undert he Const i
tution ofI ndia,per tai
ning to Panchay ats,was
i
nt r
oduced byt heConst i
tuti
on( 73rd Amendment )Act ,1992,w. e.
f.01. 06.1993,by
i
nser t
ing Part-I
X,f r
om Ar ticl
es243 and 243( A)and t o 243( O)and schedul e-XIas
organicpar t
soft heConst itut
ion.Itenjoinedt hest atetot akest epstoor ganizev il
l
age
Panchay atsandendow t hem wi t
hsuchpower sandaut hor i
tyasmaybenecessar yt o
r
d
enablet hem tofunctionasuni tsofsel f-
gov ernment .The73 Const it
ut i
onAmendment
l
ay sdowni nbroadout l
ine,theconstit
ut i
on, composi t
ion,reservati
onofseat s, durati
on,
disqualif
icati
onf ormember ship,power s,aut hor i
tyandr esponsibil
it
iesofPanchay at
,
powert oi mposet axes,andsev eralotherrel atedmat ters.Apar tfr
om t heabov e,oneof
thehighl i
ghtsoft he73r dAmendmenti st heGr am Sabha( vil
l
ageassembl y)forev ery
Panchay at.WhenPanchay atdispensej usti
cei tact sasNy ay aPanchay at.

TheComposi
tionofPanchay
atiRaji
nst
it
uti
ons:Ar
ti
cle243GoftheConsti
tut
ion,
added
tot
heConsti
tuti
on,
aft
ertheamendment,empowerst
hestatel
egisl
atur
estoendowthe

9
I
DE-
JETO:
Asi
aLawSer
ies-
16

12
panchayat
swi t
hsuchpower sandaut hor
it
iesasmaybenecessar ytoenablet hem to
funct
ionasinsti
tut
ionsofsel f-
government.Legisl
atingfortheseinsti
tuti
onsr emains
theresponsi
bil
i
tyoft hestates.Howev er
,anysuchl egi
slat
ionhast oconformt othe
mandatoryprovi
si
onsofPar tIXoftheConst i
tut
ion,whichprovi
desforthreeti
ersy st
em
ofPanchayatiRajasapar tici
pator
ydemocr ati
cf orum,compul sor
yrepresentationof
womenandSchedul eCaste,Schedul eTri
besamongmember sandof fi
cebear ersof
PanchayatRaji
nsti
tut
ions,
etc.

4.Ar
bit
rat
ion

Settl
ementofdi sput esbyar bit
rationhasbeenpr acti
cedi nIndi
afrom thedi stantpast
and thel egalli
teratur et el
lsusoft heanci entsy stem ofar bi
tr
ati
on f orr esolvi
ng
disputesconcerningt hef ami l
y,ort hetr
adeorasoci algr oup.TheConst i
tutionofI ndi
a
alsoput sitasaDi r
ect i
vePr incipleofSt atePolicythatt heStateshouldencour age
10
settl
ementofi nt
er nationaldisputesbyar bitrat
ion. Int hepast ,
statut
orypr ov i
sionson
arbit
rati
onwer econt ainedi nthreedi f
ferentenactment s,namely,TheAr bitrati
onAct ,
1940,t heAr bi
tr
ation( ProtocolandConv enti
on)Act ,1937andt heFor eignAwar ds
(Recogniti
onandEnf orcement )Act ,1961.

TheAr bit
rationAct ,1940l ai
ddownt hef r
amewor kwi t
hinwhi chdomest icar bi
trat
ion
wasconduct ed i nIndia,whi l
et heot hert wo Actsdealtwi thf orei
gn awar ds.The
Arbi
trat
ionandConci l
iationAct,1996hasr epealedtheArbit
rat i
onAct ,1940andal so
theActsof1937and1961,consol i
datedandamendedt hel aw r el
ati
ngtodomest i
c
11
arbi
trat
ion ,i nt er
nati
onalcommer ci
alar bit
rat
ion andenf or
cementoff oreignar bi
tral
awards and al so defines the law r elati
ng t o conci
li
ati
on,pr ov i
ding format t
ers
connected t her ewith and incidentalt hereto on the basis oft he ModelLaw on
Int
ernati
onalCommer cialArbitrat
ionadopt edbyt heUni t
edNat ionsCommi ssionon
Int
ernati
onal Tr adeLaw( UNCITRAL)i n1985.

orthear bi
traltr
ibunal
,witht heconsentoft heparti
es,mayar rangef oradmi nistr
ative
assist
ance ofa sui t
ableinst i
tution.Furt
her,section 2(
8)expr esslyf acil
it
ates t he
adoptionofi nst
it
uti
onalrules.Pr esentl
y,t
herear e23recognizedar bi
tralorganizati
ons
i
nI ndi
a,whi chprovidefaci
liti
esf ordomest i
candi nter
nati
onalcommer ci
alarbitr
ation.
Themostpr ominentamong t hesear etheI ndi
anCounci lofAr bi
trati
on( ICA),t he
Federati
onofI ndianChamber sofCommer ceandI ndust
ry(FICCI),theBengalChamber
ofCommer ceandI ndustr
y( BCCI ),Indi
anChamberofCommer ce,theEastI ndi
aCot t
on
Associati
onLt d.
,theCottonText ilesExportPromotionCounciletc.Someoft hear bit
r al
10
Const
it
uti
onofI
ndi
a,Ar
ti
cle51(
d).
11
Ar
bit
rat
ion&Conci
l
iat
ionAct
,1996,
sect
ions2(
2),
2(7)

13
agenci
esdealwit
hspeci
fi
cdi
sputessuchastheBengalChamberofCommer
ce,whi
ch
admini
ster
sarbi
tr
ati
onpr
imar
il
yinthejut
etr
ade.

TheEastI ndiaCot t
onAssoci ati
onandt heCot t
onTextil
esExportPr omotionCouncil
dealwit
hset t
lementofdi sputesi nthef i
eldofforei
gncott
ont radei ntexti
les.Even
for
eigninstit
utionsgetar bi
tr
ationmat tersinvol
vingIndi
anint
erests.Forexampl e,a
thr
ee-memberi nter
nationalarbitraltr
ibunalwasappoi nt
edbytheInternati
onalChamber
ofCommer ceforconduct ingarbitrat
ionpr oceedi
ngsintheRs1330mi ll
i
onur eaimport
12
scam,occur r
edi nI
ndia.

"Special
ized ar bi
tr
ation"is arbit
rati
on conduct ed undert he auspi
ces ofar bit
ral
i
nstituti
ons,whi chmi ghthaveframedspeci alrulest omeetthespecif
icrequirement s
fortheconductofar bit
rat
ioninrespectofdisputesast ocommoditi
es,
constructi
on, or
specifi
c ar eas oft echnology.Some t rade associ ati
ons concer
ned with specific
commodi ti
esorChamber sofCommer cealsospeci f
iesthatar
bitr
ati
onundertheirrul
es
will
beconduct edonlybetweenmember softhator ganizat
ion.

St
atut
oryAr
bit
rat
ion:

“Statut
oryArbit
rati
ons”arear bi
trati
onsconduct edinaccordancewi t
ht heprovi
si onsof
certainspeci
alAct swhi chpr ovidef orarbit
rati
oninr espectofdi sputesarisingon
mat ter
scoveredbyt hoseAct s.Thereareabout24suchCent ralActs.Amongt hem ar e
theCant onmentsAct ,1924,theI ndianElectri
cit
yAct,1910,theLandAcqui si
tionAct,
1894,t heRail
way sAct,1890andt heFor wardContractsRegulat
ionAct ,1956.Many
StateAct sal
sopr ovidef orarbit
rati
oni nrespectofdi sput
escov eredbyt hoseAct s,
i
ncl udi
ngActsrelat
ingtocooper ativ
esocieties.

Compul
sor
yar
bit
rat
ionbyGov
ernment
:

Gover
nmentcontract
s gener
all
y prov
ide f
orcompul sor
y ar
bit
rati
on i
nr espectof
di
sputesari
si
ng t
hereunderand usuallythearbi
tr
atorsappoi
nted t
o deci
desuch
di
sputeareseni
orgov er
nmentoffi
cers.A st
andi
ngcommi tt
eeconsisti
ngofsenior

12
I
DE-
JETO:
Asi
anl
awSer
ies16

14
offi
cersi sconstit
utedtoensur et hatnol i
ti
gat
ioni nvol
vingsuchdi sput eistakenupina
court/t ribunalwithoutthemat terhavingbeenf i
rstexami nedbyt hesaidcommi ttee
andt hecommi tt
ee’sclear
ancef orlit
igati
onhast obeobt ai
ned.Thi sprocedurehas
helpedi nt hesettl
ementofal argenumberofdi sputesi nanami cablemanner ,which
otherwisewoul dhav eendedupi nlit
igati
ontheawar doft hearbit
ratorinsuchdisputeis
bindingonpar ti
est othedisput e.TheGov er
nmentofI ndiahadi ntroducedin1966a
scheme f orJointconsul t
ati
ve Machi neryand compul soryarbitr
ation forresol
ving
diff
erencesbet weent hegov ernmentasanempl oy
erandt hegener albodyoft he
empl oyees.TheSchemepr ovidesf orcompul sor yarbitrati
ononpayandal l
owances,
weekl yhour sofwor kandleaveofacl assorgradeofempl oyees.Undert heschemet he
BoardofAr bi
tr
ati
onwassetupi nJuly1968.Ti ll31stDecember2000,241caseshad
beenr eferredtotheBoar dandt heBoar dhasdi sposedof238cases.

Per
manentMachi
ner
yofAr
bit
rat
ors:

Per
manentMachiner
y ofArbi
tr
ator
s has been setup i n Depar
tmentofPubl
i
c
Ent
erpr
isesf
orr
esol
vi
ngcommerci
aldi
sput
esexcepttaxat
ionbetween

PublicSectorEnt erprises inter-

seaswel lasbet weenaPubl i
cSect orEnterpri
seanda
CentralGov ernmentDepar t
ment /Mini
st ry.Nol awyeri sall
owedt oappearonbehal fof
eit
herpar t
yf orpresent ing/defendi
ngt hecases.TheAr bitr
atorissuesnot icestoparti
es
concernedf orsubmi ssionoff actsoft hecaseandt heirclai
msandcount erclai
ms.He
i
nv i
testhepar t
iest opr esenttheircasebef or
ehi m.Basedonwr it
tenr ecordsandor al
evidencetheAr bitratorgivesanawar d.Bot ht hedi sputingpar ti
eshav etobeart he
arbit
rati
oncostequal l
y .Anappealagai nsttheawar doft heArbi tr
atorcanbemadet o
theSecr et
ary,Mi nistryofLaw,i ncaseei therpartyisnotsat i
sfiedwi ththeawar d.The
decisi
onofSecr etary, Mini
stryofLawi sfinalandbi ndingont hepar ti
es.Noappealcan
bemadei ntheCour tofLaw/ Tri
bunalagai nstthedeci si
onofSecr etary(Law).41

Dur i
ng they ear1999- 2000,9 caseswer er ef
erred tot heAr bit
rat
orofPer manent
Machi neryofAr bitr
atorsf orar bitrat
ion.In addi
tion the presentAr bi
tr
atori s al
so
processing33ol dcasesbet weenPubl i
cSectorEnt erpri
ses.Ther eare14pendi ng
referencesfr
om Publ i
cSect orEnt erpri
sesf orar
bit
rati
on, whi
char ebeingprocessedby
Per manentMachi neryofAr bitr
ator s.Theamountr eal
izedf r
om par t
iesasar bit
rati
on
costdur i
ngthey earupt o10.02.2000wasRs. 7,
77,
113/ -
42Fr om 1993-94disputeswith
Por tTrustshaveal sobeeni ncludedundert hepur vi
ew ofPer manentMachi neryof
Arbitrat
orsforar bi
tr
ation.TheMi nist
ryofRai l
way sisexcludedf rom thepur vi
ew of
Per manentMachi ner
yofAr bit
rators

15
Appoi
ntmentofar
bit
rat
ors.
—

(
1)Aper
sonofanynat
ional
i
tymaybeanar
bit
rat
or,
unl
essot
her
wiseagr
eedbyt
hepar
ti
es.

(2)Subj
ecttosub-
secti
on(
6),
thepar
ti
esar
efr
eet
oagr
eeonapr
ocedur
eforappoi
nti
ngt
he
arbi
tr
atororar
bit
rat
ors.

(3)Fail
i
nganyagreementr ef
erredtoinsub-sect
ion(2)
,inanarbit
rati
onwit
hthreear
bit
rat
ors,
eachpar t
yshal
lappointonearbitr
ator,
andthetwoappointedarbi
trat
orsshal
lappoi
ntt
hethir
d
arbi
trat
orwhoshallactasthepr esi
dingar
bitr
ator.

(
4)I
ftheappoi
ntmentpr
ocedur
einsub-
sect
ion(
3)appl
i
esand—

(
a)apart
yfail
stoappoi
ntanar
bit
rat
orwi
thi
nthi
rt
yday
sfr
om t
her
ecei
ptofar
equestt
odoso
f
rom t
heotherpar
ty;
or

(b)thetwoappointedar
bit
rat
orsfai
ltoagr
eeont hethi
rdarbi
tr
atorwithi
nthi
rt
ydaysfr
om t
he
dateoftheirappoi
ntment
,theappoi
ntmentshal
lbemade, uponrequestofapart
y,byt
heChief
Justiceoranypersonori
nsti
tut
iondesi
gnat
edbyhi m.

(5)Fai
li
nganyagreementreferr
edtoinsub-sect
ion(2),i
nanarbit
rat
ionwit
hasolearbit
rat
or,i
f
theparti
esfai
ltoagreeonthearbit
rat
orwithi
nthir
tydaysfr
om recei
ptofarequestbyonepart
y
from t
heotherpart
ytosoagr eetheappoi
ntmentshallbemade,uponrequestofapart
y,bythe
ChiefJusti
ceoranypersonorinsti
tut
iondesi
gnatedbyhim.

(
6)Wher
e,underanappoi
ntmentpr
ocedur
eagr
eeduponbyt
hepar
ti
es,
—

(
a)apar
tyf
ail
stoactasr
equi
redundert
hatpr
ocedur
e;or

(b)t
hepart
ies,orthetwoappoi
ntedar
bit
rat
ors,
fai
ltor
eachanagr
eementexpect
edoft
hem
undert
hatprocedure;
or

(c)aperson,i
ncl
udinganinst i
tuti
on,fai
lst
oper f
orm anyf
unct
ionentrustedtohim oritunder
thatpr
ocedure,apart
ymayr equesttheChiefJusti
ceoranypersonorinsti
tut
iondesignatedby
himtotakethenecessarymeasur e,
unlesstheagreementontheappointmentprocedure
provi
desothermeansf orsecur i
ngtheappointment.

(
7)Adeci
siononamatt
erent
rust
edbysub-sect
ion(4)orsub-
sect
ion(5)orsub-
sect
ion(
6)t
o
t
heChi
efJusti
ceort
heper
sonorinst
it
uti
ondesignatedbyhimisf
inal
.

(8)TheChi
efJusti
ceort
heper
sonori
nst
it
uti
ondesi
gnat
edbyhi
m,i
nappoi
nti
nganar
bit
rat
or,
shall
havedueregar
dto—

16
(
a)anyqual
i
ficat
ionsr
equi
redoft
hear
bit
rat
orbyt
heagr
eementoft
hepar
ti
es;
and

(b)ot
herconsi
der
ati
onsasar
eli
kel
ytosecur
etheappoi
ntmentofani
ndependentandi
mpar
ti
al
arbi
tr
ator
.

(9)I
nthecaseofappoi ntmentofsoleorthi
rdarbit
ratorinanint
ernati
onalcommerci
al
arbi
tr
ati
on, t
heChiefJusti
ceofIndi
aort heper
sonori nst
it
uti
ondesignatedbyhi
m mayappoi
nt
anarbit
ratorofanati
onali
tyothert
hanthenationali
ti
esoft hepart
ieswherethepar
ti
esbel
ong
todif
ferentnati
onal
it
ies.

(
10)TheChiefJustcemaymakesuchscheme1ashemaydeem appr
i opri
atef
ordeal
i
ngwi
th
mat
tersent
rustedbysub-
sect
ion(
4)orsub-
sect
ion(
5)orsub-
sect
ion(6)t
ohim.

(11)Wher emor et
hanonerequesthasbeenmadeundersub- secti
on(4)orsub-secti
on(5)or
sub-secti
on(6)totheChi
efJusti
cesofdi f
fer
entHighCourtsorthei
rdesi
gnates,theChi
ef
Justiceorhi
sdesignat
etowhom t herequesthasbeenfir
stmadeundertherelevantsub-
secti
onshallalonebecompetenttodecideontherequest.

(12)(a)Wherethematt
ersref
erredtoi nsub-sect
ions(4),
(5)
,(6)
,(7)
,(8)and(
10)ari
seinan
i
nternati
onalcommerci
alar
bit
ration,theref
erenceto‘‘
ChiefJust
ice'
'i
nthosesub-
sect
ionsshal
l
beconstruedasaref
erencetothe‘ ‘
ChiefJusti
ceofIndia'
'
.

(b)Wher ethemattersreferredtoinsub- secti

ons(4),(5)
,(6),(7)
,(8)and(10)ari
seinanyother
arbit
rat
ion,theref
erencet o“ChiefJustice”inthosesub-sectionsshallbeconstr
uedasa
refer
encetot heChiefJusticeoftheHi ghCour twi
thi
nwhosel ocalli
mitsthepri
nci
palCi
vil
Courtrefer
redt oi
nclause( e)ofsub-sect i
on( 1)ofsecti
on2i ssituateand,wheret
heHigh
Courtit
selfistheCourtreferredtointhatcl ause,t
otheChi efJusticeofthatHi
ghCourt.

EXPLANATI
ON

Secti
on11oft heArbi
trati
onandconci li
ati
onAct ,1996(theAct)deal swiththeappointmentof
arbi
trat
ors.Sect i
on11(2)ofthe1996Actpr ovidesthatthepartiesarefreetoagreeona
procedureforappoint
inganar bi
trator.
Theoreti
call
y,underSection11( 6)ofthe1996Act ,
apart
y
doesnothav et oappr
oachacour tforappointmentofanar bit
rator,i
ftheagreementpr ov
ides
foramechani sm todeal wi
ththef ai
lur
eoftheot herpartytoappoi ntthearbi
tr
ator.Thus,t
he
parti
esaregivencompl eteautonomyi nchoosingt hefastestpossiblemethodofappoi nt
ingan
arbi
trat
or,andconstit
utingavalidarbit
ralt
ribunal.

Wheretheprocedureforappoi
ntmenthasbeenagreeduponbetweenthepart
ies,
the
cour
t'
sfunct
ionisonlytoimplementtheagr
eedprocedur
e.TheM.P.hi
ghcourtinSubhash
Proj
ect
sandMar ket
ingLtd.v.SouthEast
ernCoalf
iel
dsLtd.AI
R1998MP276sai d,
"Under
17
section11( 6)
,wher et heagr eementl aysdownapr ocedureforappointmentofar bi
trat
or
refer
abl etosub-sect i
on( 2), t
hechiefjust
icehasmer el
ytotakenecessar ymeasur esfor
enforcingthepr ocedur elaiddowni ntheagreementforarbi
trati
on.Undersub- section(6)the
chiefjusti
ceorhi sdesi gnat ehasnott omakeanyappoi ntmentbutt oenf orceorcompel t
he
partytomaket heappoi ntmenti naccordancewiththeagreedpr ocedure.Butt heA.P.High
CourtinDeepakGal vanising&EnggI ndustr
iesPvtLtdv.Govt.ofIndia,theDel hiHighCourtin
ContinentalConst ructionLt d.v.NHPCLt d.andtheBombayHi ghCour tinR.P.Souza&Cov .
PWD t ookacont r
aryv iew.Ther eitwasheldthatthecourthastoappoi ntani ndependent
arbit
ratorwhent heopposi t
epar tyhasfail
edtoappointthenamedar bi
trator.

I
tiswel
lsett
ledt
hatwhereanar bi
tratorisnamedi nthearbit
rationagreement,the
prov
isi
onsofsecti
on11oft heActarenotattractedandthecourtwillnothav ejur
isdi
cti
ontotr
y
anddecidet
hepetit
ionf
il
edbypar t
yforappoi nt
mentofanot herarbi
trator.I
twashel dby
MadrasHighCour nKaml
ti aSolv
entv .ManipalFinanceCorporat
ionLt d.(AI
R2001Mad440) .

InBSNLv.Motorol
aIndi
aPvtLtd.(2008(
3)ArbLR531)i
twashel
dt hatonceamini
mum
30daysperi
odhasexpir
edandapetiti
onundersecti
on11isf
il
ed,
theappointi
ngaut
hori
ty
l
ossestheri
ghtt
omaket heappoi
ntmentofarbit
rat
or.

Thenatureandscopeofissuesarisi
nginasect i
on11appli
cati
onforappoi
ntmentof
arbi
tr
atorsisfarnarr
owerthanofthosearisi
nginasect i
on8appli
cati
on.I
nasection11
appl
icati
on,theissueof'
arbi
tr
abil
it
y'i
sleftfordeci
sionbythet
ri
bunal,wher
eastheCourtmust
deci
det hesamei nasecti
on8appl i
cat
ion.

InRevaEl ectr
icCarCo.P.Lt d.v .GreenMobil,decidedbyt heSupr emeCour t, wasan
appli
cationundersect i
ons11( 4)and( 6)oft heArbi
tr
ationandConci li
ati
onAct,1996( t
he"Act"
)
forappointmentofar bit
ratorbyt heChi efJust i
ceofIndia.Thecour thel
dt hatal
thoughsect i
on
16oft heAct,incorporat
ingt hepr i
ncipleofCompet ence- Compet ence,empower sthear bi
tr
al
tri
bunaltoadjudicateonmat terspertainingtoitsownj uri
sdicti
on,underIndianlawi tiswell
-
settl
edthatwhent heChiefJust iceisappr oached(whet herforadomest i
corinternati
onal
arbit
rati
on)toappoi ntarbi
trators,hehol dsthepowerofmaki ngapr eli
minarydeterminati
onof
whethert her
eexi st
sanar bitrati
onagr eementatal l
.

AMENDMENTTOSECTI
ON11BY2015AMENDMENTACT

TheUnionCabinetrecent
lyissuedapressr
eleasef
ortheArbi
trat
ionandConci
l
iati
on
(Amendment)Bil
l,2018(“2018Bill
”)
.Theamendmentswhich,whenpassedwil
lapplyt
othe
18
Arbi
trat
ionandConci
li
ationAct,
1996( “
Act
”)arepursuantt
otheSr i
kri
shnaCommitt
eeReport[
1]
rel
easedinJuly,
2017(“Repor
t”)
,recommendingfurt
heramendment sonthebackofthe2015
amendment s,
primar
il
ytoimproveonorclar
if
yv ari
ousprovi
sions.

Keyamendment
sappr
ovedi
ncl
udet
hef
oll
owi
ng:

Ar
bit
rat
ionCounci
lofI
ndi
a

TheRepor trecommendedt hecreationofani ndependentbodyt oaccredi tarbitr

al i
nsti
tuti
ons
andar bit
ratorsasanumberofst akeholdersintervi
ewedwer edi senchant edwi ththeexisti
ng
arbit
ralfacil
itiesinIndi
a.Ther ecommendat i
onhasbeenaccept edandani ndependentbodywi l
l
besetup, namel y,theArbit
rati
onCounci lofIndiatoenablef ormal evaluat i
onandaccr edi
tati
on.
ThisCounci lwi llf
ramenor msf oralter
nat edisputeresoluti
onandev ol
v epr ofessi
onal
guideli
nes.Thi sisapositi
vestept oensur ethequal it
yofar bitr
al i
nstit
utions.ThoughI ndi
ahas
severalarbitral i
nsti
tut
ions,fewapar tfr
om t heMumbai CentreforI nt
ernat i
onal Arbit
rati
onare
recognizedashav i
ngtheexper t
iset oadmi nistermulti
-part
yi nternati
onal arbitr
ations.

TheCouncil
wi l
lalsomai nt
ainanelectr
onicdepositor
yofar
bit
ral
awar dsthatcanbeusedt o
analy
sehowt hejuri
sprudencehasev ol
ved.Thisisawelcomemov e.Manyi nt
ernat
ional
i
nstit
uti
onsrel
easey earbooksthatpubli
shexcerptsofawar
dsandt hi
srepositor
ywi l
lhel
p
devel
opthejuri
sprudenceinIndia.

Thechai r
per sonoft heCounci lwill
bear et
ir
edSupr emeorHi ghCourtj
udgeor“ anyemi nent
person”,andi ncludeacademi cs,Gov ernmentnomi neeset c.TheReporthad, howev er
,adv i
sed
thattheCounci l
shoul dbeautonomousofanyGov ernment ali
nvolv
ement .Thisisperti
nent
sinceinarbitrati
onsi nvol
vi
ngt heGov ernmentasapar ty,accredi
tati
onofar bi
tratorsby
Gov ernmentnomi neeswoul dbringinconf l
ictofinterestissues.Itwoul
dbegoodf orthe2018
Billt
oconsi derthis.Pursuanttot heRepor t
,theNewDel hiInt
ernati
onalArbitr
ationCent r
eBill
,
2018wasi ntroducedi nLokSabhai nJanuar y,2018f orest abl
ishi
nganar bit
rati
oni nsti
tuti
on,a
chamberofar bitrat
ionforempanel ingar bi
tr
ators,atrainingacademyf orarbitr
at i
onanda
researchcent re.

Appoi
ntmentofAr
bit
rat
ors

Secti
on11wi l
lbeamendedsot hatinsteadofhav i
ngtogothroughcourtforappoint
mentofan
arbi
trator,t
heSupreme/HighCour tmaydesi gnat
especi
fi
carbit
rali
nsti
tuti
onsthatwil
lmake
therelevantappoi
ntment
s.Thisobv i
atest heneedtofi
leafor
mal appli
cati
onforappoint
mentin
court,thusspeedi
nguptheprocessbyt akingawaysomepartoftheburdenf r
om thecourt
.

TheReporthadrecommendedt hatsuchappointment
sshouldbemadewi t
houttherequi
rement
oft
heSupr emeCourtorHi
ghCour tsdeter
mi ni
ngtheexi
stenceofanar
bit
rati
onagreement.
Thi
sisinl
inewiththekompetence-kompetencepri
nci
pleofanarbi
tr
alt
ri
bunalit
self
det
ermini
ngitsownjuri
sdi
cti
on.
19
Onar el
atednote,thepresentSect
ion11(6A)ofthe2015Actmandat esthattheCourti
na
Secti
on11pr oceedingshouldconf
ineit
sexaminati
ontotheexi st
enceofthearbi
tr
ati
on
agreement.Pri
ortoitsamendment ,t
hepowerunderSecti
on11washel dtobewiderinscope
andincl
udedanexami nat
ionofwhethercl
aimscouldbereferredtoarbi
tr
ati
onetc.
[2]The
Cabinet
’spressrel
easedoesnotdeal wit
hthisaspecti
nit
sr ecommendat i
on.

Lengt
hoft
heAr
bit
ralPr
oceedi
ng

Inatt
empt ingtoredressthecrit
i sm ofadhocI
ci ndianar bi
tr
ationanditslengt
hydelay s,
Secti
on
29A,int
roducedi nthe2015amendment sprovi
dest hatanawar dmustbemadewi t
hin12
monthsf r
om t heTribunalent
eri
nguponr ef
erence, extendabletoaperiodof18mont hsbyparty
consent,fail
ingwhichthemandat ewouldterminate.Anyext ensionover18mont hscanonl ybe
obtai
nedwi t
htheCour t’
spermissi
on.Thenewlyi nsertedprovisi
onthoughwel l
-i
ntenti
onedhas
beencrit
icized..

Inpractice,18mont hsi sanambi ti

oust argetformostcompl ex,
commer cialdisputes.The
proposedamendment sont hebasi soft heRepor tsuggestthattheti
mel ineprov i
dedinSection
29Ashoul dexcludeinternati
onalarbitr
ations.TheRepor tnotedthatinternati
onal arbi
tr
al
i
nstit
ut i
onshav ecr i
ti
cizedthetimelinesofSect ion29Aont hebasisthatt heconductoft he
proceedingi sbestlefttotheinsti
tutions.Howev er,whil
epromot ing,
institut
ionalarbit
rati
on,
applyingadi ff
erentsetoft i
melinestoi nter
nationalarbi
trat
ionssuggest sdiscriminati
onagainst
apur elydomest icarbi
trati
on.

The2018Bil
lsensi
blysuggest
sthatt
he12mont
hper
iodshoul
dbecal
cul
atedaf
tercompl
eti
on
ofpl
eadi
ngs.

Conf
ident
ial
i
ty

Statutoryr ecogni t
ionofconfidenti
ali
tyinar
bitrati
onhasbeensuggest ed(theActmandat es
confident i
al i
tyonlyforconcili
ati
onproceedings).Inl
inewit
ht heReport’sr
ecommendat i
on,the
pressr eleasesuggest st heintr
oductionofanewsect i
on42A, r
equir
ingarbitr
ator
sandar bit
ral
i
nstitutiont okeeppr oceedingsconf i
denti
al(excepttheaward).Thi
spr ovi
sionwil
l havetobe
carefull
ydr aftedtoexcludeanyor derorawar dthatmaybechal l
engedi nacourtincludi
ng
Section17or ders.

Ar
bit
rat
orI
mmuni
ty

Amendment ssuggestpr
ovi
sionsforarbi
trat
ori
mmuni ty,
toprotectanarbitr
atorf
rom anylegal
proceedingsforact
sandomi ssi
onsdur i
ngthecourseoftheproceedings.Thisi
stoensurethat
thearbit
ratori
sabletoexer
ciseherfuncti
onwithoutanyfearofproceedingsensui
ngtherefr
om.
20
Ar
bit
rat
orimmunitypr
ovi
sionsar
epr
esenti
nmanyf
orei
gnst
atut
esandi
nter
nat
ional
i
nst
it
uti
onalr
ules,
andMCIA

Rul
es.

Appl
i
cat
ionoft
he2015Amendment
s

TheCabinet’
samendment spr
oposedanewsect i
on87t oclari
fythatunlessotherwi
seagreed
byparti
es,t
he2015Amendment s,woul
dnotappl yto( a)Arbit
ralproceedingsthathave
commencedbef oretheAmendmentAct ,2015( b)Courtproceedingsar i
singoutoforinrel
ati
on
tosucharbi
tral
proceedingsandshal
lapplyonlytoAr bitr
alproceedingscommencedonoraf ter
thecommencementoft heAmendmentAct ,2015andt ocourtproceedingsari
singoutoforin
rel
ati
ontosuchAr bi
tral
proceedi
ngs.

Oneoft hemostcont ent

iousissuesinrecenttimeshasbeent hecorrecti
nter
pret ati
onof
Secti
on26oft heAmendmentActandwhet hertotheamendment sapplytocour tproceedings:
(i
)fi
ledaftert
heamendment scamei ntoforcein2015, buti
nr espectofarbi
tr
ations
commencedbef oretheamendment s;and(ii)courtpr
oceedingswhi chwerependi ngatt hetime
theamendment scamei ntoeffectbutweredeci dedthereaf
ter.Inthi
scontextther ewere
confl
ict
ingdecisionsofvari
ouscourts.
[3]

TheSupr emeCour trecentl

ypassedaj udgment,[
4]rul
ingthatt
he2015amendment swould
applytoallcourtpr
oceedingsf i
ledaft
ertheamendment scamei ntoef
f ect(
October23,2015)
,
regardl
essofwhent hear bi
trati
onwascommenced.Cr uci
all
y,i
twasal soheldthatthe2015
amendment swouldapplytopendi ngproceedi
ngsthatmayhavebeenf il
edpri
ortothe
amendment sbutwerependi ngattheti
meamendment scamei ntofor
ce.

The2018amendment showeverpr
ovidet
hatthe2015amendment swil
lappl
yonlyto
proceedingsact ual
l
yfil
edaft
erOct
ober23,2015.Beingso,theSupremeCourthasdir
ectedt
hat
i
tsaf oresaidjudgmentbetr
ansmit
tedtot
heLawMi nist
ryandtheAttor
neyGeneral
totakenote
ofitsinterpret
ati
on.

Thejudgmenti t
selfr
aisesquesti
ons.Assumi ngapetit
ionwer efi
ledtochall
engeanawar dpri
or
tothe2015amendment sbutwaspendi ngont hedateoft heamendment s,byvir
tueofthe
j
udgment ,anautomaticstaythatwasear l
i
ereffect
ivewoul dnolongerapply.I
twouldthenbe
opent otheaward-cr
editort
oapplyforenforcementandt heawar d-
debtorwouldhavetofil
ea
separateappli
cati
onforastay( i
nwhichcaseadeposi toft heawardamountwoul dbe
probable),
thustaki
ngawayabenef itthatapartyhadpriortothe2015amendment s.

Itr
emai
nstobeseenwhet
hert
heGov ernmentt
akesnot
eoft
heSupr
emeCour
t’
sint
erpr
etat
ion
andef
fect
samendmentsi
nconsonance.

Theamendment
sar
eawel
comedev
elopmenti
nthef
iel
dofar
bit
rat
ionandwheni
mpl
ement
ed

21
wi
l
lassi
stf
urt
heri
nIndi
abei
ngseenasanar
bit
rat
ionf
ri
endl
yjur
isdi
cti
on.

tf
urt
heri
nIndi
abei
ngseenasanar
bit
rat
ionf
ri
endl
yjur
isdi
cti
on.

Backgr
ound

Secti
on11oft heActprovi
desthatwhent heparti
esf ai
ltoappoi
ntoneormor earbit
rat
ors
accordi
ngtothetermsofthearbit
rati
onagr eement,orwhentwoar bi
tr
atorsfai
ltochoosethe
thi
rdorpresi
dingarbi
tr
ator
,orthedesignatedappointmentmechanism other
wisefail
s,t
he
part
iescanapproachtheChiefJusti
cetoresolvethestalemateandappointanarbi
trat
or.

Secti
on11i sbasedonAr t
icle11oft heUNCI TRALModelLaw, 1985(“t
heModel Law”).Si
milar
totheModel Law,Secti
on11env i
sagestheChi efJust i
ceperformingafairl
yrouti
ne,
administrat
ivefuncti
oninmaki ngtheappointment ,simil
artotheappointi
ngr ol
et hatarbi
tr
al
i
nstit
utionstakeon.Al l
thati srequir
edisar equestf rom apartytotheChiefJusticetoappoint
thearbitr
ator,usual
lyi
nt hef or nNot
m setouti i
fi
cationNoF22/ 1/
95/SCA/Genl.Theextentof
enquir
yi nmaki ngtheappoi ntmentshouldincludechecki ngfortheimparti
ali
tyand
i
ndependenceoft heappoint eeandt hequali
ficat
ionsspeci f
iedintheagreement .

Howev er
,inthePat elEngi neeri
ngcase, theSupr emeCour thel dthatt heappoi nti
ngf unctioni n
Section11i saj udi ci
alf unct i
onwher et heChi efJust iceshoul dexami necer t
ainjuri
sdi cti
onal
quest i
onsliket heexi stenceandv alidi
t yoft hear bitrati
onagr eement .Theexactscopeof
enqui r
yoft heChi efJust i
cewassetoutbyt heSupr emeCour tasf ol
lows:
“I
tisnecessar yt odef inewhatexact l
yt heChi efJust ice, appr oachedwi thanappl i
cat i
onunder
Section11oft heAct ,istodeci deatt hatst age.Obv iousl y, hehast odeci dehi sownj uri
sdicti
on
i
nt hesense, whet hert hepar tymaki ngt hemot i
onhasappr oachedt her i
ghtHi ghCour t.Hehas
todeci dewhet hert herei sanar bitr
at i
onagr eement ,asdef inedi nt heActandwhet hert he
personwhohasmadet her equestbef orehi m, isapar tyt osuchanagr eement .Iti
snecessar y
toindicatethathecanal sodeci det hequest ionwhet hert hecl ai
m wasadeadone; oral ong
barredclaimt hatwassoughtt ober esur rectedandwhet hert hepar t
ieshav econcl udedt he
tr
ansact i
onbyr ecor dingsat i
sfactionoft heirmut ualright sandobl i
gat i
onsorbyr ecei v
ingt he
fi
nalpay mentwi thoutobj ecti
on.I tmaynotbepossi bl eatt hatst age,todeci dewhet heral i
v e
clai
m made, i
sonewhi chcomeswi thint hepur v i
ewoft hear bitr
ati
oncl ause.I twil
lbe
appropr i
atetol eav ethatquest iont obedeci dedbyt hear bitraltri
bunalont akingev i
dence,
alongwi ththemer i
tsoft hecl aimsi nv olvedi nt hear bitration.TheChi efJust icehast odeci de
whet hertheappl icanthassat i
sf i
edt hecondi tionsf orappoi ntinganar bitrat
orunderSect i
on
11(6)oft heAct …”

Fur
ther,t
heCour
tinthi
scasealsohel
dthatthecourt’
sdecisi
ononanyoftheseprel
i
minar
y
matter
swouldbefi
nalandnotopenforsubsequentexaminat
ionbyt
hearbit
ralt
ri
bunal
.

22
Insubsequentcases, questi
onshaveariseni
nrelati
ont othisdicta–inrel
ati
ontowhet herthe
ChiefJusticeorhisdesignatehastoexamineallthepreli
mi nar
yissueslai
ddowni nPat el
Engineer
ingorwhet herhecansetasi desomeoft hesepreliminaryi
ssuesforthearbit
ral
tri
bunaltodecide.Questionshavealsobeenrai
sedaboutt heextenttowhichcour
tscan
examinet hescopeoft hearbit
rat
ionagreementwhiledealingwi t
haSect i
on11application.

Di
scr
eti
ont
oleav
eissuest
othear
bit
ral
tri
bunal

nNat
I i
onalI
nsuranceCompanyLtd.v.BogharaPol
yfabPvt.Lt
d.,
(2009)1SCC267, atwo-j
udge
benchoftheSupremeCourthel
dthattheChiefJusti
ce,i
nexerci
singhispowersunderSect
ion
11,doesnothavetodeci
deallt
hepreli
minaryquesti
onssetoutinPatelEngi
neer
ing.

TheCour tsegr
egatedtheprel
iminar
yissuesintot hr
eecat egor
ies,
thati
s,“
(i
)issueswhicht
he
ChiefJusti
ceorhisdesignat
eisboundt odecide;(ii
)issueswhichhecanalsodecide,
thati
s,
i
ssueswhi chhemaychooset odeci
de;and(ii
i)issueswhi chshouldbel
efttotheArbi
tr
al
Tri
bunaltodecide.
”

Thef ir
stcategoryincludedt heChi efJust i
ce’st er
rit
orial j
uri
sdictionaswel lastheissueof
whet hert
herewasanar bit
rat i
onagr eementandwhet hertheSect ion11appl i
cantisindeeda
partytotheagr eement .Thesecond, optional categoryi ncl
udedi ssuesofwhet herclaimi sa
dead( barr
edbyl imitation)cl aim oral iveclaim andwhet herthepar t
ieshav econcludedt heir
contractbyrecordingsat i
sfact ionoft heirmut ualr
ightsandobl i
gat i
onorbyr eceivi
ngt hef i
nal
paymentwi t
houtobject ion.Ift heChi efJust icediddeci det orul eont heseopt i
onal i
ssues, hi
s
decisionwoul dbef i
nal andcannotber eopenedbyt het ri
bunal .Howev er,
thecourturgedt he
ChiefJusticetoexer ci
secaut ioninexer cisingt hi
sopt ionandt obegui dedbytheobj ecti
v eof
theActof“ expediti
ngt hear bi trati
onpr ocesswi thmi nimum j udicialinter
venti
on”.Thel ast
categoryofissueswhi cht heChi efJusticeshoul dnotdeci dei ncludedi ssuesof“(i)Whet hera
clai
m madef all
swithint hear bitr
ationclause( asforexampl e,amat terwhichisreservedf or
fi
naldecisionofadepar tment alaut hori
tyandexcept edorexcl udedf rom arbi
trat
ion)”or“ (
ii)
Mer i
tsoranycl aiminv olvedi nt hear bit
ration.”

Thecat egor i
sati
onoft heCour tinthiscasei si nt
eresting,especiall
yinrelat
iont othesecond
category,becausei napr eviouscase, ShreeRam Mi ll
sLt d.v.Utili
tyPremises( P)Lt d.
,(2007)4
SCC599, theSupr emeCour thadsuggest edt hatthesecondcat egoryofcases, i
nv olvi
ngt he
decisi
onofwhet hert heclaimi saliv
ecl ai
m ornot ,hast obedeci dedbyt hecour tasi ti
sonl yby
decidi
ngt hislimit
ationissuet hatthecour tcandeci dewhet hertoconst i
tut
eat r
ibunal ornot.
TheCour tsai d:…t
“ heChi efJusticehast orecor dsatisfacti
ont hatthereremai nsal iveissuein
betweent hepar ti
es…”andt hat“wheretheChi efJusti
cecomest oafindi
ngt hatther eexistsa
l
iveissue,t hennaturall
ythisfindingwoul dincludeaf indingt hattherespecti
v eclaimsoft he
parti
eshav enotbecomebar r
edbyl i
mi t
ation.”

23
nChl
I or oControl
sI ndiaPr i
vateLtdv.SevernTrentWat erPurif
icationI
nc.,(
2013)1SCC641, a
three-j
udgebenchoft heSupremeCour tsaidthatthereisnov ariancebetweentheShreeRam
MillsLtd.andBoghar aPolyfabPrivat
eLimitedjudgment s;
bothj udgmentswer einl
inewit
hthe
l
awdecl ar
edinthePat el
Engineeri
ngCase.Quot ingfrom ShreeRam Mi ll
s,theCourtcl
ari
fi
ed
thatitlaiddownt hat“ i
tisonlyforthepurposeoff i
ndingoutwhet hert
hearbit
ralpr
ocedurehas
tobest art
edthattheChi efJusticehastorecordsatisfact
ionthatt her
eremainsalivei
ssuein
betweent hepart
ies.

…TheChiefJust
iceonlyhastorecor
dhissati
sfacti
ont hatpr
imafaci
etheissuehasnot
becomedeadbyt helapseoft
imeorthatanypartytotheagreementhasnotsleptoveri
ts
ri
ghtsbey
ondthet i
meper mi
tt
edbylawtoagitatethoseissuescover
edbytheagr eement
….”

Thus,“
…theChiefJust
icemaynotdecidecer
tai
nissuesfi
nall
yanduponrecor
dingsat
isf
act
ion
thatpr
imafaci
etheissuehasnotbecomedeadev enleav
eitfort
heArbi
tr
alTri
bunalt
odeci
de.”

TheCourtal
souphel
dthecategor
isat
ionl
aiddowninBogharaPolyf
abPr i
vat
eLimi
ted:“Wehave
noreasontodi
ff
erwit
htheclassi
fi
cati
oncarv
edoutinNati
onalInsuranceCo.asi
tisverymuch
i
nconformit
ywitht
hejudgmentoftheConsti
tut
ionBenchi
nSBP. ”

Thescopeoft
hear
bit
rat
ionagr
eement

InArasmetaCapt i
vePowerCompanyPr ivateLimit
edv .LafargeIndiaPr i
vateLimit
ed,the
SupremeCour tinDecember,2013,r
eiteratedanotheraspectoft hePat elEngineer
ingdecisi
on,
namel yt
hattheChiefJust
iceshouldnotdeci deonwhet hert heclai
mi nquest i
onisonewhi ch
comeswi thi
nthepur v
iewofthearbit
rationclauseornot .In2005, t
heSupr emeCour thadsaid:
“I
twillbeappropri
atetol
eavethatquest i
ont obedecidedbyt hearbit
raltr
ibunalontaking
evi
dence,alongwiththemerit
softhecl aimsi nv
olvedint hearbit
rati
on.”

In2013,thequesti
onwaswhet herthecl
aimsrai
sedbyt hepar
ti
esf
ell
wit
hinthedefi
nit
ionofa
‘
bil
lingdisput
e’andthus,
withi
nthescopeofthearbi
trati
onagr
eement
.TheSupremeCour t
categori
call
ystat
edthatthequest
ionfel
ltobedeter
mi nedbyt
hear
bit
ral
tri
bunalandnotthe
courts.

TheCour tsai “
d,….thedesi gnatedJudge…whi ledeal
i
ngwi t
hanappl icat
ionunderSecti
on11( 6)
oftheAct ,onani ssuer aisedwi thregardtotheexceptedmat t
ers,wasnotjusti
fi
edin
addressi
ngt hesameonmer i
tswhet heritisadisput
erelat
ingtoexceptedmat t
ersundert he
agreementi nquest ionornot …..ThedesignatedJudgehasf all
enintoerr
orbyopiningthatthe
di
sputesr aisedarenot“ bil
li
ngdi sputes”
,forthesameshoul dhavebeenl ef
ttobeadjudicated
bythelearnedAr bitrator…”

Thus,thethir
dcategoryofi
ssues(underBoghara)arestrict
lyfort
hetri
bunalt
odecide.Wit
h
Arasmeta,theSupremeCourthasshownt hati
tispreparedtostri
ctl
yenfor
cethejur
isdi
cti
onal
l
ine(betweent hecour
tandthetri
bunal)andnotf ur
therencroachuponthejur
isdi
cti
onofthe
24
t
ri
bunal
apar
tfr
om whati
snecessar
ytoappoi
ntanar
bit
rat
orunderSect
ion11.

5.Conci
l
iat
ion

Ther eisnotmuchdi fferencebetweenmedi ati

onandconci l
i
at i
on.Mediati
onisoneof
themet hodsbywhi chconci l
iat
ionisachi ev ed.Concil
iationisessentiall
yaconsensual
13
process .The conci li
ation has gotst at utory sanction undert he Arbit
rati
on and
Conci l
iati
onAct,1996.Par tII
Ioft heActconsi stingofSect ion61to81pr ovi
desf or
met hodofconciliati
onofdi sputesarisi
ngoutofl egalr elati
onship,whethercontr
actual
ornot .Itisbyani ndependentconci l
i
ator.Theset tl
ementagr eementarri
vedatbysuch
concili
at i
onhasthest atusandef f
ectasifi tisanar bit
ral awardonagr eedterms.

Conci
l
iat
ionandAr
bit
rat
ion

Unli
keanar bitrat
or ,aconci l
i
atordoesnotgi veadeci si
onbuthi smai nf unct i
oni st o
i
nducet hepar tiesthemsel vestocomet osett
lement.Anar bi
tr
atori
sexpect edt ogi vea
heari
ngt othepar tiesbutaconci l
i
at ordoesnotengagei nanyf or
mal hearing, thoughhe
mayi nf
ormal l
yconsul tthepar ti
essepar atel
yort ogether.Thear bi
tr
atori sv est edwi th
thepoweroff inaldecisi
onandi nt hatsenseitishiscont r
ibuti
onthatbecomesbi nding.
I
n contrast ,a conci li
atorhas t oi nduce t
he par t
ies to come t o a set tlementby
agreement .Anar bitrat
orgener all
ydeci desafteracont estbetweent hepar t
ieswhi l
ei n
thecaseofconci li
at i
ont hefinalresultdependsont hewi llofthepar t
ies.Ther efor
e,at
theendoft hepr oceedings,emot ionalharmonybet weent heparti
esmaynotsuf fer
much, i
nt hecaseofconci l
i
ation.

Conci
l
iat
ors

Ther
ewi
l
lbeonl
yoneconci
l
iat
or,unl
esst
hepar
ti
esagr
eet
otwoort
hree.Wher
ether
e

13
Chapter24,Para24.74,Repor
tofFi
rstNat
ional
Judi
ci
alPayCommi
ssi
on(
1999)
,
ht
tp:
//www.kar.
nic.
in/
fnjpc/
cwcm&adr.ht
ml

25
aret
woort hr
eeconcili
ators,thenasar ule,t
heyoughtt
oactjoint
ly.Wherethereisonly
oneconcil
iator,t
hepar ti
esmayagr eeonhisname.Wheret herearetwoconci l
i
ators,
eachpartymayappoi ntoneconci li
ator
.Wher et
herearet
hreeconci l
i
ators,eachpar t
y
mayappoi ntone,andt hepar ti
esmayagr eeonthenameoft hethirdconcili
ator,who
14
shal
lactaspr esi
dingconcili
ator.

I
nst
it
uti
onal
Assi
stance

Part
ies may enl istt he assi st
ance ofa sui t
abl
ei nst i
tut
ion orper son regarding
appointmentofconci li
ator.Thei nsti
tuti
onmayber equestedtor ecommendort o
di
rectlyappointtheconci l
iatororconcil
iat
ors.I
nrecommendi ngsuchappointment ,the
i
nstit
utionsetc.shallhaver egardtotheconsider
ati
onsl i
kelytosecurean" i
ndependent
andimpar ti
alconcili
ator"
.Int hecaseofasol econcil
i
ator ,
theinst
it
uti
onshal ltakeinto
accountt headv isabi
lit
yofappoi nti
ng aconcili
atorot herthant heonehav ing the
nati
onalit
yoft heparti
es

Pr
act
ical
appl
i
cat
ion

Concili
ation i
sthe mostf requentlyused pr ocessf orr esolvi
ng industri
al& f amil
y
di
sput es.Famil
yCourts,
setupt hroughoutt hecountryforresoluti
onofmar i
taldi
scords
15
undert heFami l
yCour t
sAct1984 ,useconci l
iat
iont or esol
veami cablydisputes,
withoutthehelpoflawyers.85familycour t
shav esof arbeenest abli
shed:7i nAndhra
Pradesh;1eachi nAssam,Bi har,Mani pur
,Sikki
m andPondi cher r
y;4i nGujarat;3in
Jharkhand;8 in Karnat
aka;7 i n Ker al
a16 i n Maharashtra2 i n Orissa;6 each in
Rajasthan&Tami lNadu14inUt tarPradesh; 2eachinUt t
aranchal andWestBengal .

Atot
alof1,18,
509casesarependingint heFamilyCour tsasonDecember2001.Of
16
t
hese7234casesarependi
ngformor ethan3y ears. Concil
iat
ionisalsowidel
yused
i
nthehumanr i
ghtsfi
eldbyHumanr i
ghtcommi ssions,socialwel far
eorgani
zati
ons,
whocal
lonbothpar
ti
esandoff
ertheiroff
icesforsolvi
ngbi t
terdiff
erences.

14
Ar
bit
rat
ion&Conci
l
iat
ionAct
,1996
15
LawMinist
erExpr
essesCent r
e'sConcernOverTar
dyProgressOfFastTrackCourts,October30,
2001
(
PIBrel
ease)ht
tp:
//pi
b.ni
c.i
n/ar
chieve/
lr
eleng/
lyr
2001/
roct
2001/30102001/r301020012.html
16
ht
tp:
//www.
nic.
in/
lawmi
n/Just
.ht
m

26
6.
Medi
ati
on

Medi ati
on,a form ofal t
ernat
ive di
sputer esol
ution (ADR)or" appropri
ate di
spute
resoluti
on",ai
mst oassisttwo( ormor e)disputantsi nr eachinganagr eement.The
par t
iesthemselv
esdet er
minetheconditionsofanyset t
lement sreached— ratherthan
accept i
ngsomet hi
ngimposedbyat hir
dpar ty.Thedi sput esmayi nvolve(asparti
es)
states,organi
zati
ons,communities,i
ndi
v i
dualsorot herr epresentat
iveswithav ested
i
nt eresti
ntheoutcome.

Mediatorsuseappr opr
iat
etechni
quesand/orski
ll
st oopenand/ori
mprovedialogue
betweendi sput
ants,ai
mingtohel pthepart
iesreachanagreement(withconcrete
eff
ects)on t he di
sput
ed matter
.Normall
y,allpart
iesmustv i
ew the medi
atoras
i
mpar ti
al.

Di
sputant
smayusemedi at
ioninavari
etyofdisputes,suchascommer
cial
,legal
,
di
plomati
c,wor
kpl
ace,
communit
yandf
amilymat
ters.

Athir
d-partyrepresent
ati
ve maycont ractand mediat
e between (say)unions and
cor
porat
ions.Whenawor kers’uni
ongoesonst ri
ke,adisputetakesplace,andt he
cor
porat
ionhiresat hi
rdpartytointerv
eneinatt
empttosettl
eacont ractoragreement
bet
weent heunionandthecor porat
ion.

7.Negot
iat
ion

Negotiati
onisadi alogueintendedtor esol
vedisputes,t
opr oduceanagreementupon
coursesofact i
on,
t obargainforindi
vi
dualorcollect
iveadvantage,ortocr
aftoutcomes
tosatisf
yv ar
iousi
nterests.I
tistheprimarymethodofal t
ernati
vedisputer
esolut
ion.

Negot
iat
ionoccur
sinbusi
ness,
non-
prof
itor
gani
zat
ions,
gov
ernmentbr
anches,
legal
pr
oceedi
ngs,
amongnat
ionsandi
nper
sonal
sit
uat
ionssuchasmar
ri
age,
div
orce,
par
ent
ing,
andev
ery
dayl
i
fe.Thest
udyoft
hesubj
ecti
scal
l
ednegot
iat
iont
heor
y.Those
whowor
kinnegot
iat
ionpr
ofessi
onal
l
yar
ecal
l
ednegot
iat
ors.Pr
ofessi
onal
negot
iat
ors

27
ar
eof
tenspeci
ali
zed,
suchasuni
onnegot
iat
ors,
lev
eragebuy
outnegot
iat
ors,
peace
negot
iat
ors,
host
agenegot
iat
ors,
ormaywor
kunderot
hert
it
les,
suchasdi
plomat
s,
l
egi
slat
orsorbr
oker
s.I
tist
ruet
hat
,not
hingi
smor
esat
isf
yingandmor
esoot
hingt
han
acor
dial
l
ynegot
iat
edami
cabl
eset
tl
ementbecause,
itpr
otect
sandpr
eser
vesper
sonal
andbusi
nesssecr
ets,
rel
ati
onshi
psandr
eput
ati
onst
hatmi
ghtot
her
wisebei
mpai
redby
t
headv
ersar
ial
process.Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
iondoesnotf
all
eit
heri
ntheconceptof
‘
arbi
tr
ati
on’
or‘
conci
l
iat
ion’
.

St
ri
ctl
y,negot
iat
ionbyi
tsel
f,i
snotanal
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onpr
ocedur
ebecause
i
tisabi
par
ti
tepr
ocessanddoesnotr
equi
reat
hir
dpar
tyt
ofaci
l
itat
eandpr
omot
ethe
set
tl
ement
,wher
easal
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hodsessent
ial
l
yinv
olv
esat
hir
d
per
sonf
orf
aci
l
itat
ingt
her
esol
uti
onoft
hedi
sput
ebyset
tl
ement
.

Howev
er,
iti
sthemostf
undament
alwayofdi
sput
eresol
uti
onandi
sgener
all
ytr
eat
ed
asoneoft
hemai
ncomponent
sofal
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onpr
ocesses.I
tisonl
y
whent
hepr
ocessofnegot
iat
iondoesnotsucceed,
thati
ttr
ansf
ormsi
ntoal
ter
nat
ive
di
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hodbyi
nter
cessi
onofaneut
ral
andmor
est
ruct
uredpr
ocess
f
ramewor
k.

Just
iceKr
ishnaI
yerJaccent
uat
edt
heneedf
orset
tl
ingdi
sput
esbet
weenpar
ti
es
par
ti
cul
arl
yincommer
cial
mat
ter
s,bymut
ual
negot
iat
ioni
npr
efer
encet
oCour
t
l
i
tigat
ioni
nthef
oll
owi
ngl
anguages,
‘Commer
cialcauses…,
shoul
d,asf
araspossi
blebe
adj
ust
edbynon-
li
tagi
tat
ivemechani
smsofdi
sput
e–r
esol
uti
onsi
ncef
orensi
cpr
ocess,
di
l
ator
yandcont
ent
ious,
hampert
hef
lowoft
radeandhar
m bot
hsi
des,
whoev
erwi
ns
orl
osest
hel
i
s…Al
egaladj
udi
cat
ionmaybef
lawl
essbuthear
tl
essbutanegot
iat
ed
set
tl
ementwi
l
lbesat
isf
ying,
eveni
fitdepar
tsf
rom st
ri
ctl
aw’
.

Thepar
ti
esshoul
dbeencour
aged,
sof
araspossi
ble,
toset
tl
ethei
rdi
sput
eswi
thout
r
efer
encet
oli
ti
gat
ion.TheAr
bit
rat
ionandConci
l
iat
ionAct
,1996gi
vesl
egi
slat
ive
r
ecogni
ti
ont
othi
sconceptunderSect
ion30.

Sect
ion30pr
ovi
dest
hat
,I
‘ti
snoti
ncompat
ibl
ewi
thanar
bit
rat
ionagr
eementf
oran
ar
bit
ralt
ri
bunalt
oencour
ageset
tl
ementoft
hedi
sput
eand,
wit
htheagr
eementoft
he
28
par
ti
es;
thear
bit
ralt
ri
bunalmayusemedi
ati
on,
conci
l
iat
ionorot
herpr
ocedur
esatany
t
imedur
ingt
hear
bit
ralpr
oceedi
ngst
oencour
ageset
tl
ement
’.

I
nIndi
a,t
hepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ionasapr
efer
reddi
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hodi
syett
o
makeani
mpact
.Nev
ert
hel
ess,
inmanycount
ri
esi
thasmadear
emar
kabl
eimpact
.In
Swedent
hedi
sput
edpar
ti
esmeeti
naspi
ri
tofdet
ermi
nat
iont
oagr
ee,
andt
heyar
esai
d
t
oconsi
dert
henon-
arr
ival
atanami
cabl
eset
tl
emental
mostadi
sgr
acet
othemsel
ves.

Negot
iat
ioni
sthesi
mpl
estandmostpur
posef
ulmet
hodofset
tl
ingcommer
cial
di
sput
esbet
weent
hepar
ti
es.Thedi
sput
ant
sthemsel
vesar
eint
hebestposi
ti
ont
o
knowt
hest
rengt
hsandweaknessesoft
hei
rrespect
ivecases.I
fther
eisanyneedof
adv
icef
eltbyt
hem onsuchpoi
ntsofdi
ff
icul
tyorcont
rov
ersy
,thedi
sput
edpar
ti
escan
seekt
heneededadv
icef
rom t
hecompet
entper
sonsorf
rom t
heexper
tsofsuchf
iel
d.

Thepr
ocessofNegot
iat
iont
husenabl
est
hepar
ti
est
oir
onoutt
hei
rdi
ff
erencesand
di
sput
ebydi
rectf
ace-
to-
facei
nter
act
ion.I
tav
oidsunnecessar
yacr
imony
,angui
shand
expense.Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ioncanhel
pinheal
i
ngt
hewoundsandt
husr
emedi
es
pai
nscausedbyi
nter–par
tyf
ri
cti
ons.

Thus,
Negot
iat
ioncant
akepl
acei
nbusi
ness,
non-
prof
itor
gani
zat
ions,
andGov
ernment
br
anches,
legal
proceedi
ngs,
amongnat
ionsandi
nper
sonal
sit
uat
ionssuchas
mar
ri
age,
div
orceandpar
ent
ing.

PROCEDURE

Negot
iat
ioni
sanon-
bindi
ngpr
ocedur
einwhi
chdi
scussi
onsbet
weent
hepar
ti
esar
e
i
nit
iat
edwi
thoutt
hei
nter
vent
ionofanyt
hir
dpar
tywi
tht
heobj
ectofar
ri
vi
ngata
negot
iat
edset
tl
ementoft
hedi
sput
e.I
tisnotconf
inedt
othecor
epoi
ntsoft
hedi
sput
e
al
one.I
nor
dert
ofaci
l
itat
ingov
eral
lset
tl
ementoft
hedi
sput
e,par
ti
escani
ntr
oduce
ot
heri
ssuesast
rade-
off
s.

Negot
iat
ioni
sani
nter
act
ionofi
nfl
uences.Suchi
nter
act
ions,
forexampl
e,i
ncl
udet
he

29
pr
ocessofr
esol
vi
ngdi
sput
es,
agr
eei
nguponcour
sesofact
ion,
bar
gai
ningf
ori
ndi
vi
dual
orcol
l
ect
iveadv
ant
ageandofcr
aft
ingout
comest
osat
isf
yvar
iousi
nter
est
s.

Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
iongi
vest
hepar
ti
esanopt
iont
ogoov
erawi
der
angeofi
ssues.
I
nbusi
nessdi
sput
es,
thedi
sput
edpar
ti
est
ryt
oreachaset
tl
ementbyadopt
ingagi
ve
andt
akepr
ocess,
under
standi
ngeachot
her
’spoi
ntofv
iew,
ast
heybestknowt
he
st
rengt
handweaknessoft
hei
rrespect
ivecasesandt
hepar
ti
eshav
ethei
rmar
ket
r
eput
ati
onatst
ake.Thi
sgi
vesagr
eat
erchanceofr
eachi
nganami
cabl
eset
tl
ementby
negot
iat
ions.

Negot
iat
ioni
nvol
vest
hreebasi
cel
ement
s:pr
ocess,
behav
iorandsubst
ance.The
‘
process’
ref
erst
ohowt
hepar
ti
esnegot
iat
e,t
hecont
extoft
henegot
iat
ions,
thepar
ti
es
t
othenegot
iat
ions,
thet
act
icsusedbyt
hepar
ti
es,
andt
hesequenceandst
agesi
n
whi
chal
loft
hesepl
ayout
.

‘
Behav
ior
’tot
her
elat
ionshi
psamongt
hesepar
ti
es,
thecommuni
cat
ionbet
weent
hem
andt
hest
ylest
heyadopt
.The‘
subst
ance’
ref
erst
owhatt
hepar
ti
esnegot
iat
eov
er:
the
agenda,
thei
ssuesi
nthei
rrespect
iveposi
ti
onsandmor
ehel
pful
l
yini
nter
est
soft
he
par
ti
es,
theopt
ions,
andt
heagr
eement
sreachedatt
heendbyt
hem.

Ski
l
lednegot
iat
orsmayuseav
ari
etyoft
act
icsr
angi
ngf
rom ast
rai
ght
for
war
d
pr
esent
ati
onofdemandsorset
ti
ngofpr
econdi
ti
onst
omor
edecept
iveappr
oaches
suchasi
nti
midat
ionandsal
ami
tact
icsmayal
sopl
ayapar
tinar
ri
vi
ngatt
heout
come
ofnegot
iat
ions.

Thekeyt
oNegot
iat
ioni
sinf
ormat
ion.Emot
ionshav
ethepot
ent
ial
topl
ayei
thera
posi
ti
veoranegat
iver
olei
nnegot
iat
ion.Dur
ingnegot
iat
ions,
thedeci
sionast
owhet
her
ornotset
tl
erest
sinpar
tonemot
ional
fact
ors.

Negat
iveemot
ionscancausei
ntenseandev
eni
rr
ati
onal
behav
ior
,andcancause
conf
li
ctst
oescal
ateandnegot
iat
ionst
obr
eakdown,
whi
l
eposi
ti
veemot
ionsf
aci
l
itat
e
r
eachi
nganagr
eementandhel
ptomaxi
mizej
ointgai
ns.

Negat
iveaf
fecthasdet
ri
ment
alef
fect
sonv
ari
ousst
agesi
nthenegot
iat
ionpr
ocess.
30
Al
thoughv
ari
ousnegat
iveemot
ionsaf
fectnegot
iat
ionout
comes.Angr
ynegot
iat
ors
pl
ant
ousemor
ecompet
it
ivest
rat
egi
esandt
ocooper
atel
ess,
evenbef
oret
he
negot
iat
ionst
art
s.Thesecompet
it
ivest
rat
egi
esar
erel
atedt
oreducej
ointout
comes.

Dur
ingnegot
iat
ions,
angerdi
srupt
sthepr
ocessbyr
educi
ngt
hel
evel
oft
rust
,cl
oudi
ng
par
ti
es'
judgment
,nar
rowi
ngpar
ti
es'
focusofat
tent
ionandchangi
ngt
hei
rcent
ral
goal
f
rom r
eachi
ngagr
eementt
oret
ali
ati
ngagai
nstt
heot
hersi
de.

Angr
ynegot
iat
orscanpayl
essat
tent
iont
oopponent
’si
nter
est
sandcanbel
ess
accur
atei
njudgi
ngt
hei
rint
erest
s,t
husachi
evel
owerj
ointgai
ns.Mor
eov
er,
because
angermakesnegot
iat
orsmor
esel
f-
cent
eredi
nthei
rpr
efer
ences,
iti
ncr
easest
he
l
i
kel
i
hoodt
hatt
heywi
l
lrej
ectpr
ofi
tabl
eof
fer
s.Angerdoesnothel
pinachi
evi
ng
negot
iat
iongoal
sei
ther
:itr
educesj
ointgai
nsanddoesnothel
ptoboostper
sonal
gai
ns,
asangr
ynegot
iat
orsdonotsucceedi
ncl
aimi
ngmor
efort
hemsel
ves.

Mor
eov
er,
negat
iveemot
ionsl
eadst
oaccept
anceofset
tl
ement
sthatar
enoti
nthe
posi
ti
veut
il
it
yfunct
ionbutr
atherhav
eanegat
iveut
il
it
y.Howev
er,
expr
essi
onof
negat
iveemot
ionsdur
ingnegot
iat
ioncansomet
imesbebenef
ici
al:
legi
ti
mat
ely
expr
essedangercanbeanef
fect
ivewayt
oshowone'
scommi
tment
,si
ncer
it
y,and
needs.

ADVANTAGES

Anegot
iat
edset
tl
ementi
sconduci
vei
npr
eser
vingr
elat
ionsbet
weent
hepar
ti
esasal
so
t
hei
rmar
ketr
eput
ati
on,
whi
chj
ust
if
iest
hepr
efer
enceoft
hepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ionov
er
ot
heral
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hods.Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ionandt
he
negot
iat
edset
tl
ementi
spossi
bleatanyt
ime,
evenaf
tert
heot
hermet
hodsofdi
sput
e
r
esol
uti
onhav
ebeeni
nit
iat
ed.

Thenegot
iat
edset
tl
ementi
sbasedonbi
par
ti
teagr
eement
s,andassuch,
issuper
iort
o
anypr
ocedur
einv
olv
ingt
hir
dpar
tyi
nter
vent
ioni
nmat
ter
sthatessent
ial
l
yconcer
nthe
par
ti
es.Asagai
nst‘
arbi
tr
ati
on’
and‘
conci
l
iat
ion’
,t
hepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ioni
smost
f
lex
ibl
eandi
nfor
mal
,andpr
ovi
desampl
escopef
ort
hepar
ti
est
odi
rectt
hepr
oceedi
ngs
31
sui
tedt
othef
act
sandci
rcumst
ancesoft
hecase.Fori
nst
ance,
par
ti
esar
efr
eet
o
chooset
hel
ocat
ion,
timi
ng,
agenda,
subj
ectmat
terandt
hepar
ti
cipant
s.

I
tisqui
ck,
inexpensi
ve,
pri
vat
eandl
esscumber
somei
ncompar
isont
oot
herdi
sput
e
r
esol
uti
onmet
hods.I
tisav
olunt
aryandnon-
bindi
ngpr
ocess,
wher
eint
hepar
ti
es
cont
rol
ther
esul
tandt
hepr
ocedur
eforcomi
ngt
oanami
cabl
eagr
eement
.Themai
n
adv
ant
ageofnegot
iat
ioncanbesai
dtobet
hat
,aset
tl
ementbywayofnegot
iat
ioni
s
al
way
spossi
ble,
evenaf
terot
hermet
hodofr
esol
vi
ngt
hedi
sput
ehav
ebeenseti
n
mot
ionorhav
ingbeenseti
nmot
ion,
hav
enotr
esul
tedi
nanami
cabl
eset
tl
ementoft
he
di
sput
es.

DI
SADVANTAGES

I
tisacommonpr
act
icef
ort
hepar
ti
est
oani
nter
nat
ional
cont
ractt
ost
ipul
atet
hat
bef
oreembar
kinguponar
bit
rat
ion,
thepar
ti
eswi
l
lendeav
ort
oset
tl
eanydi
sput
eby
negot
iat
ionorsomeot
herf
orm ofal
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hod.Theessence
ofnegot
iat
iont
hati
tisbasi
cal
l
yabusi
nessdeal
inv
olv
ingr
eluct
antexchangeof
commi
tment
swher
ebot
hpar
ti
eswantt
oyi
eldl
essandgetmor
e.I
tisaki
ntot
he
pr
act
iceofdi
plomacy
.

Theev
olut
ionandadopt
ionoft
hemoder
nsy
stemsofI
nfor
mat
ion,
communi
cat
ion
t
echnol
ogi
esandt
heconceptofCy
berer
ahasmadet
hebusi
nessandt
rade
negot
iat
ionsahi
ghl
ysophi
sti
cat
edsci
ence,
inv
olv
ingacompl
exi
nter
changeofi
deas
combi
ningar
gument
s,hor
se-
tr
adi
ngandbl
uff
.Thebusi
nessper
sonsandt
rader
suse
negot
iat
ionasadev
icef
ort
ryi
ngt
oper
suadet
heot
hert
ogi
vehi
m whatheneedsor
want
sandgi
vesupsomet
hingi
nret
urn.

Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ioncansomet
imesbecomehi
ghl
ycompl
i
cat
ed,
par
ti
cul
arl
y
becauset
hepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ionhav
eemphasi
zedagr
eat
erandext
ensi
ve
possi
bil
i
tiesf
orj
ointgai
nsandi
nter
estbaseout
come.Thef
inal
out
comeofnegot
iat
ion
woul
ddependupont
hear
t,ski
l
landdext
eri
tyofdi
spl
ayi
ngst
rengt
hbyonepar
tyt
othe
ot
her
.Wher
etheot
herdet
ermi
nant
sofst
rengt
har
ereasonabl
ybal
anced,
conv
ict
ion

32
caneasi
l
ybet
hedeci
siv
efact
or.

Thepr
ocessofnegot
iat
ioncanst
artwi
theasybar
gai
ningsl
owl
yadopt
ingapl
eadi
ng
mannerori
nsomecasest
hepar
ti
esmayhect
or,
caj
oleort
hreat
ent
heot
herpar
ty.The
power
ful
par
tyt
othedi
sput
ehasanopt
iont
ouset
het
act
icofav
oidi
ngt
hepr
ocessof
negot
iat
ionorwi
thdr
awi
ngf
rom t
hesi
tuat
ion,
whi
chi
nvol
veconf
ront
ingot
her
sin
r
esol
vi
ngdi
ff
erences.

Ther
ebyt
hepar
tymayuset
het
hreatofwi
thdr
awal
asast
rat
egyi
nhi
sfav
orand
di
sadv
ant
ageoust
othatoft
heopposi
tepar
ty.Negot
iat
ionscancul
minat
eint
oan
ami
cabl
eset
tl
ementonl
yift
hepar
ti
eshav
eagenui
neeager
nessandwi
l
l,f
oll
owedby
ear
nesthonestef
for
tsandcooper
ati
on,
toset
tl
ethedi
sput
e.

Howev
er,
iti
sunl
i
kel
ytosucceedunl
esst
hosei
nvol
vedar
ecapabl
eofacer
tai
ndegr
ee
ofdet
achmentandobj
ect
ivi
ty.I
nlongt
erm agr
eement
siti
scommont
ofi
ndaf
ormul
a
t
hatt
he,
int
heev
entofadi
sput
ear
isi
ng,
thepar
ti
eswi
l
lfi
rstendeav
ort
oset
tl
ethei
r
di
ff
erencesbynegot
iat
ions‘
i
ngoodf
ait
h’.

Lor
dAckneri
nWal
for
dvs.Mi
l
eshassai
dt Anagr
hat‘ eementt
onegot
iat
e,l
i
kean
agr
eementt
oagr
ee,
isunenf
orceabl
e…becausei
tlackst
henecessar
ycer
tai
nty
.Adut
y
t
onegot
iat
eingoodf
ait
hisasunwor
kabl
einpr
act
iceasi
tisi
nher
ent
lyi
nconsi
stent
wi
tht
heposi
ti
onoft
henegot
iat
ingpar
ti
es’
.

Br
oadl
yspeaki
ng,
negot
iat
ioni
sani
nter
act
ionofi
nfl
uences.Suchi
nter
act
ions,
for
exampl
e,i
ncl
udet
hepr
ocessofr
esol
vi
ngdi
sput
es,
agr
eei
nguponcour
sesofact
ion,
bar
gai
ningf
ori
ndi
vi
dual
orcol
l
ect
iveadv
ant
age,
orconst
ruct
ingout
comest
osat
isf
y
v
ari
ousi
nter
est
s.Negot
iat
ioncant
husbeconsi
der
edasanot
herf
orm ofal
ter
nat
ive
di
sput
eresol
uti
onmechani
sm al
ongwi
tht
hatofar
bit
rat
ion,
conci
l
iat
ionandmedi
ati
on
mechani
sms.

8.Ombudsman

Thei
nst
it
uti
onofombudsmani
ssl
owl
ygai
ningmoment
um i
nIndi
a.Keepi
ngi
nvi
ewt
he
33
ti
meconst r
aint
s,theeconomyandt heresour
cesinv
olvedinregul
arcour
tssomeofthe
i
nsti
tut
ionshav epreferr
edtohaveanombudsmanf orset
tl
ementofdisputesar
isi
ng
agai
nstthei
rinsti
tut
ion.I
nthi
sprocess,
twodev el
opmentsarevisi
ble:

(
i)Set
ti
ngupofgr
iev
ancer
edr
essal
machi
ner
y,ast
epi
nthi
sdi
rect
ion.

(
ii
)Set
ti
ngupoft
heof
fcesofLokAy
i ukt
aatt
hest
atel
evel
.

Gr
iev
ancer
edr
essalmachi
ner
y

From 1996 onwar ds a consensus emer ged i nt he gov ernmenton ef fect i

ve and
responsi veadmi nistrat
ioncul minatingi nt heChi efMi nisters’conferencei nMay1997.
Oneoft hemaj ordeci sionsoft heconf erencewast of ormulateandoper ati
onal ize
grievancer edressalmachi neryattheCent r
eandi nt hest atesinsector swhi chdealwi th
al argepubl icint erfacesuchasr ail
way s,telecom,post ,publicdistributionsy st ems,
hospi t
als,revenue,el ectrici
tyandpet roleum amongot her s.Pursuantt othisdeci si
on,
nodalagenci esar emar kedf orhandl i
ngpubl icgr ievancesatt hePubl icWi ngoft he
Pr i
meMi nist
er’sOf fi
ce,theDepar tmentofAdmi nistrat
iveRef orms&Publ icGr ievances,
Mi ni
stryofPer sonnel ,t he DepartmentofPensi ons,and t he Dir
ect orate ofPubl i
c
17
Gr i
evancesi nt he Cabi netSecr etariat A nov elexper i
mentai med atcl eari
ng t he
massi vebackl ogi ncour tcaseshasj ustbeguni nt hecount rywiththeset tingupof‘ f
ast
track’cour t
sinv ar iousst ates.Atot alof1, 734suchcour tsar eexpect edt obeset -upby
theGov ernmentofI ndiaunderawhol lycent rall
y -f
undedscheme.Fastt r
ackcour tsar e
meantt o expedi tiously clearthe col ossalscal e ofpendency i nt he di stri
ctand
subor di
nat ecour tsunderat i
me-boundpr ogramme.Al audabl eobjectiveoft hef i
v e-year
exper i
ment alschemei st otakeupont oppr ior i
tybasi ssessi onsandot hercases
i
nv olvi
ngundert rials.

Anestimated1,80,
000undert r
ialsarel angui
shinginvar
iousj
ail
sinthecountry
.The
fastt
rackcour
tsareexpect
edt osubst anti
all
yreducethenumberofunder
-tr
ial
sinjail
s
attheendofthefir
styear
.Av astmaj orit
yoft hem woul
dbesetfree,t
her
ebyreducing
expendi
tur
easwellasburdenonj ai
ls.

Needf
oranAl
ter
nat
iveDi
sput
eResol
uti
onMechani
sm

Thewheel
sofIndianj
usti
cegri
ndslowly
,buttherear
etimeswhent
heydon’tmoveat
al
l,
ashashappenedwit
htherecor
d-br
eakingcaseofanerst
whi
l
eBengal
iroy
alfami
ly
’s

17
Publ
i
cGr
iev
anceRedr
essalMechani
sm,
htt
p:/
/pi
b.ni
c.i
n/f
eat
ure/
fey
r2000/
faug2000/
f220820001.
html

34
proper
ty.Themat
ter,whi
chi
snowi nthe 
Calcutt
aHighCourt
, hasbeenpendi
ngf
or175
18
years,
makingi
tperhapst
hecount
ry’
slongest-
runni
ngcase.

Oneoft hemajorfl
awsofI ndiaist hedelayinit
slegalsystem.Theav er
ageti
met aken
byt heIndi
ancourt
sf ordecidi
ngcasev ari
esbet ween5t o15y ears.InTheGuinness
BookofRecordst hereisanent ry,whichsay sthatthemostpr otractedlaw sui
tever
,
recordedwasinIndia:A"Mahant ",whoi sakeeperofat emple,fil
edasui ti
nPunei n
1205ADandt hecasewasdeci dedi n1966-761yearslat
er.

Ther
ear einnumerabl
einst
anceswhent hepr
esentj
udici
alsy
stem hasresul
tedint
oa
pai
nfulexperi
enceforthelit
igant
sseeki
ngredr
essal
.It’
sshocki
ngt oseeast ohow
manycasesar ependi
nginthecourts.

Themount ingarrearsinthecour
ts, inor
dinatedel aysi ntheadmi ni
str
ationofjusti
ceand
expensesofl i
ti
gationhavethepot enti
altoerodepubl ictrustandconfidenceinourlegal
system,whi chist hepill
arofourdemocr acy .Del ayalsogi vesrisetocor r
upt i
onand
otherevil
s.I deal
lyspeakingJudicialsystem isbl indt opower ,wealt
handsoci alstatus
.Courtsar esupposedt ooff
erafor um wher ethepoor, power l
essandmar gi
nali
zedcan
standwi t
hal lothersasequalsbef orelaw.Butwi ththepr esentstateofaf fai
rs,our
fell
owci t
izenshav echosent oav oidcour t
sr athert hanf aceint
imidati
oncostandt i
me
19
i
nl egalproceedings.

Inits14th r
eportLawcommi ssionofI ndi
ar ecommendeddev isi
ngwaysandmeanst o
20
ensurethatj usti
ceshouldbesi mple,speedy,cheap,eff
ecti
veandsubst
anti
al.I nits
th
77 Repor tLaw commi ssi
onofI ndi
aobser vedthattheIndi
anispri
mari
lyanagr ar
ian
and is notsophi st
icat
ed enough t o underst
and the techni
caland cumbersome
21
proceduresf ol
lowedbycourts.

Tofur
thertheabov
ement i
onedrepor
tsandthought
sofjur
ist
s,i
twoul
dbeper
ti
nentt
o
hav
eal ookatt
hependencyofcasesatt
hevari
ouscour
ts.

18

ht
tp:
//t
imesof
indi
a.i
ndi
ati
mes.
com/
175_
year
s_l
ater
_West
_Bengal
_case_
goes_
on_
and_
on/
art
icl
eshow/
3690564.
ms

19
ADR:Speechdeli
veredbyJust
iceY.
K.Sabar
wal–JudgeSupremeCourtofI
ndi
aandChair
manSupr
eme
Courtl
egalser
vicescommitt
eeon21-11-2004inaseminaror
gani
zedbyBombayHighCourt
20
LawCommi
ssi
onofI
ndi
a, hreportonRef
14t orm ofJudi
ci
alAdmi
nist
rat
ion.
21
LawCommi
ssi
onofI
ndi77thr
a, epor
tonDel
ayandar
reari
nTr
ial
Cour
ts,
1979

35
 22
Var
iat
ioni
nPendencyofcour
tcasesf
rom 1991t
o1998:

Supr
emeCour
t–subst
ant
ial
l
yreducedf
rom 104,
936(
1991)t
o19,
806(
1998)

Hi
ghCourt
s–incr
easedfr
om 2.65mil
l
ion(
1993)t
o2.
98mi
l
li
on(
1995)and3.
18mi
l
li
on
(
1997)moret
han50%inonlyf
ourhi
ghcour
ts–

Al
l
ahabadHi
ghCour
t-(
0.86mi
l
li
on)
,

Madr
as/
Chennai
HighCour
t-(
0.32mi
l
li
on)
,

Cal
cut
taHi
ghCour
t-(
0.28mi
l
li
on)
,

Ker
alaHi
ghCour
t-(
0.25mi
l
li
on)
.

Subordi
nat
ecour
ts–f
luct
uat
ing–21.
8mi
l
li
on(
1995)
,19.
9mi
l
li
on(
1996)
,20mi
l
li
on
(1997)

Pendencyi
ntheHi
ghCour
ts

Thependencyofcasesinthehighcourt
s,whi
chwas2. 651mi l
li
onason31. 12.
1993,
i
ncreasedto2.981mil
l
ionason31.12.
1995andfur
theri
ncreasedtoabout3.
181mill
i
on
ason31. 12.
1997.Thependencyofcasesason31. 12.
1999was3. 365mil
li
on.This
i
ncreasedto3.557mil
l
ionason31.10.
2001

Cr
imi
nalj
ust
iceadmi
nist
rat
ion

AsonJul y31, 1999, outof20,106,882cases13, 250,329cr iminalcaseswer ependingin

the subor di
nat e courts ofthe count ry
.St ati
st i
cs revealt hatt herei s almostone
cogni zablecr imecommi tt
edev er ysev enseconds,onepenalof fenceev erytwenty
seconds,apr opertycrimeev erymi nute,theftev eryoneandhal fmi nutes,viol
entcri
me
everyt womi nut es,burglar
yev eryf ourmi nutes,r i
otev er
yf ivemi nutes,robberyevery
fourteen mi nutes,mur der everyf if
teen mi nutes,r ape ev eryf if
tyt wo mi nut
es,
mol estationev eryt wentysixmi nut es,dowrydeat hev eryonehourf ort
yt womi nut
es,
kidnappi ngorabduct ioneveryfortyt hreemi nutes,anactofev e-
teasingev eryfi
ft
yone
mi nutesandanactofcr uel
tytowar dswomenev eryt hi
rtythreemi nutes

22
Chapter–II
,AnnualReport2000-2001,Mini
str
yofHomeAf
fai
rs;
See
ht
tp:
//www.mha.ni
c.i
n/pdf
s/AR(E)1011.pdf

36
Ther eport
ssubmi t
tedbyt heLawCommi ssionofI ndi
aandot hercommitt
eeswhoar e
constit
utedannuall
yt oexaminev ar
iousloophol esinthel awandsuggestmeasur esto
meett hesituat
ion.Thesecommi ssionst akei nt
oaccountv i
ewsandexperiencesof
div
ersesect i
onsofpeopl ebel ongingtosoci o-l
egalcircles.Theserepor
tsgeneral
ly
ref
lectthesenti
ment sofgeneralpubli
candor di
narylit
igantsinIndi
a

I
nthe114thReportonGr am Nyay
alaya(1986)theLawCommi ssi
onofIndiaexami ned
t
hatthe judici
alsystem suffer
sf r
om i nor
dinate del
ays,excessi
ve costs,legal
t
echni
cal
it
iesandevenuncertai
ntyofjudi
cialdecisi
on.TheCommi ssi
onaddedt hatthe
t
askofsol
v i
ngtheproblemsofbacklogofpendingcasesinlawcourtsi
sstupendous.

Theobservat
ionsmadei ntherepor
toftheAr
rear
sCommi
tee23al
t sor
efl
ectt
hegener
al
mindsetr
egardingcour
tsystem i
nIndi
a:

“…..
Settl
ementofcasesbymut ualcompromi seisamuchbet termet hodthanseeki ng
adjudi
cat i
onintheadversar
ysy stem.Fightingli
tigat
iontoi t
sbi t
terandf i
nalendapar t
from generati
ngtensi
onandl eavingatrailofbit
terness,burdensthepar ti
eswithheav y
fi
nancialexpenditur
e.Besides,t he successfulpar t
yhas t o waitf oryears before
enjoyi
ngt hef r
uit
sofl i
ti
gati
on.Resul t
si nconsonancewi t
hj ust
ice,equityandgood
consciencecansomet imesbeachi ev
edbyhav ingamut ualsettl
ementoft hedispute
thanbyi nvi
ti
ngthecourttodecideacaseonewayort heother……..
”

To exami ne the court wor k methods and wor k envir

onment and t o suggest
24
i
mpr ovement st
hereof,
theNat i
onalJudicialPayCommi ssi
on engagedt heser vi
cesof
IndianI nst
it
uteofManagement ,Bangalore(II
MB).TheI IMB,af teranin-depthst udy
concl udedthatmostpeoplehav ingstakesinthejudi
cialworkar eofopini
ont hatj
ust i
ce
deli
v erysystem i
sunsatisf
actoryorpoor .Themainreasongi venbyt hem i
sthedel ayin
disposalofcases.I I
MBr ansackedtheor dersheetsofseveralcasesandaf tercarefull
y
analy zi
ngthem stat
edasf oll
ows:

1.Thet
imet
akent
oser
vesummonsandemer
gencynot
icest
odef
endant
svar
iedf
rom
23
Consti
tut
edbytheGov
ernmentofI
ndi
ain1989ontherecommendat
ionoft
heChi
efJust
ices’
Conf
erence,
publ
ishedbytheSupr
emeCourtofI
ndi
a-1990,
atp.109.

24
Const
it
utedbyGovernmentofIndiaon1996ont
hedi
rect
ionoft
heSupr
emeCour
tgi
v nAl
eni lIndi
a
Judges‘
Associat
ionv.Uni
onofIndia,AI
R1992SC165.

37
t
hreemont
hst
othr
eey
ear
s.

2.Thetimet
akent
ofi
l
ewr
it
tenst
atement
srangedf
rom si
xmont
hst
otwent
yfour
months.

3.I
nter
locut
oryappl
i
cat
ionscauseddel
aysr
angi
ngf
rom f
ourmont
hst
ofoury
ear
s.

4.Fr
ami
ngofi
ssuesconsumedasmuchast
hreey
ear
sandsi
xmont
hsi
nonecase.

5.Ot
herst
agesthatdel
ayedthecaseswer eabsenceofadv
ocat
esand,ofcour
se,
i
nnumer
abl
eadj
ournment
sgivenf
orav ar
iet
yofreasons.

6.The maj orcauses ofdel ays were" summons notbei ng ser

ved on time"and
"wi
tnessesnotbeingpr esenti
ncour t"
.Forcri
minalcases,t
hemostwi del
yfel
tsourceof
del
aywas" inadequatenumberofconcer nedpersonnel
".Forci
vi
lcases,i
twas" f
il
ingof
unwarrant
edInterl
ocutoryApplicat
ions".

7.Thedelayi
nmostofthecasesisduetomul t
ipl
i
cit
yofi
nter
locut
oryappl
i
cat
ions,
25
whichar
enotdeal
twi
thbyt
hecour
tsprompt
ly.

Theabov ef i
ndi
ngconcur swiththev i
ewsofsev er
alcommi ssionsandr ei
nforcest he
fel
tneedt ointr
oducelongov er
duer ef
orms.TheNat i
onalJudicialPayCommi ssion,in
i
tsfir
streportsubmitt
edin1999exami nedtheworkmet hodsandenv ir
onmentincour ts
andnotedf ol
lowingdif
fi
cult
iesfacedincourtsy
stem t
hataffecttheinter
est
sofl it
igant
publi
c:

1)TheCour tsare overbur

denedwithwor k.Theexperi
enceisthatevenatthest
ageof
framing ofissues,t
her eisno assistancefrom advocatesin mostoft hecour
ts.
Inter
rogator
iesareseldom resor
tedt oandv eryoftendocument sarefi
ledaftert
he
commencementoft r
ialwit
hanappli
cationseekingpermissi
on.

2)Advocat
espr oducehindr
ancei
nobser v
ingtheprocedureandav eryi
nsi
sti
ngoffi
cer
i
sl i
kel
ytobehar assedinmanyway s.Rulesarealreadyther
ebutar enotobserved
becauseofnoncooperati
onofvar
iousagenciesr
esponsibl
eforproduci
ngwit
nesses.

3)Consi
der
abl
elongti
meisbeingwastedi
nsecur
ingt
hepr
esenceofthepar
ti
esf
ort
he
pur
poseofadmissi
onanddeni
alandseeki
ngr
eplytot
hei
nter
rogat
ori
es.

25
Chapter24,ReportofFi
rstNat
ional
Judici
alPayCommi
ssi
on(
1999)
,
ht
tp:
//www.kar.
nic.
in/
fnj
pc/cwcm&adr.ht
ml

38
4)Languageoft heCour t
s:Inalmostal lstates,t hej udici
alproceedi ngsi nlowercour ts
arerecordedinlocallanguageoft hest ateconcer ned.Pr oceedings, i
ncludingev i
dences
arerecordedbyt hePeshkar( Reader )inv ernacul arwhi lethepr esidi
ngof fi
cereitherin
hisownhandorbydi ctati
ontot hest eno-ty
pi str ecordst hepr oceedi ngsi nEnglish.On
accountofi mplement ati
onoft ransf erpolicyofj udgesoft hehi ghcour t
s,gener all
y
j
udgesi nahighcour tarefrom outsidet hest ateconcer ned.Thet ransfereej udges,who
arenotf amil
i
arwi thlocallanguageoft heSt at e,faceconsi der abledi f
ficult
yi ndealing
withcaseswhent her ecordsar eonl yi nl ocall anguage.Thet ranslationofal lthe
recordsint
oEngl i
shisanenor moust askbesi dest hecostf actor sandev enifitbedone,
i
twoul dcausedel ayi
ndi sposalofcases.Ther efore,languagei sal soi nawaybecomes
ahindranceinthewayt oattai
nspeedydi sposal ofcases.

Theref
or e,peopl
ear elooki
ng forwardindeveloping Al
ter
nati
veDi sput
eResol uti
on
modes, whichwillmi
nimizetheoveral
lti
meandcostofaper son,whi
lemaxi mizingthe
ti
meav ail
abl
eatone' sdisposal
.Thisi sev
identf rom t
hef actthataconsi derabl
e
l
iti
gati
onbur denhasbeenshi f
tedtothehybr
idvarietyofADRmodesdev elopedi nthe
countr
ydur i
nglastfi
vedecades.

Pr
obl
emsoft
hecour
tsy
stem

Var
iouspr
obl
emswi
thwhi
chI
ndi
ancour
tsy
stem i
sai
l
ingmaybesummedupasunder
:

Overburdenedjudi
ciary:Thecourtsystem i
nIndi
a,whi chi
sbasedonadv ersari
almodel
of common l aw,is cumber some,expensi ve and cumulati
vel
y disastr
ous.I tis
over
burdened.Ithast otackl
ewithvoluminouspendingaswellasfr
eshlit
igati
onarisi
ng
ever
yday .Thehi
erarchyofcourts,
withappealsafterappeal
saddstothemagni tudeof
theproblem.

I
nadequacyofj
udi
ciar
ytomeett
hechal
l
engesoft
otal
popul
ati
on:

I
nadequatejudgestrengt
ht hroughoutt hecountryisthesimi l
arbi
ggestfact
orforhuge
backlogofcases.Addedtot hisdif
ficul
tyissluggishnessshownbyt hehighcourtsand
vari
ous stat
e governmentsi nf i
ll
ing up the v acancies ofjudges on ti
me.As on
December2001,t herewere15. 14% v acanciesint hesubor di
nat
ecourts,highcour
ts
andtheSupremeCour tofIndiaoutoft otal
13140j udgepost s.

St
atei
sthel
argestl
i
tigat
or:

The cent
raland st
ate gov
ernment
s ar
et he si
ngl
el ar
gestli
ti
gant
s,abetted by
gov
ernment owned corpor
ati
ons,semi
-gover
nment bodi
es and other st
atut
ory
39
organi
zat
ions.I
nBombayHi ghCourtalone,therewereasmanyas1, 205wri
tpeti
ti
ons
fi
ledagai
nstthesebodiesbet
weenJanuar y1t oJune7,2000-excl
udi
ngthosefi
l
edon
26
theappel
l
ateside,whi
letot
alnumberofsuitsfi
ledis2,
402.

Adv
ersar
ial
char
act
erofadmi
nist
rat
ionofj
ust
ice:

I
ni t
sst r
uct
ureandorgani
zati
on,theadmi ni
strati
onofjusti
cei
nIndi
aasatpr esentin
voguehast hestampof‘ Madei nU.K.’
.Itisadv er
sar
ialinchar
act
er.I
trenderst he
posit
ionofajudgetoapassiveli
stener
,asor tofumpireinagameofcri
cket,denying
him acti
veparti
ci
pati
oninunr avel
ing t
het r
ut h.And thecour
tbatt
leisconduct ed
accordi
ngtomedieval
rul
esofev i
dence.

Ti
met
akeni
ndi
sposal
ofcases:

Oneofthemaj
orfl
awsofI ndiai
sthedel
ayi
nitsl
egalsyst
em.Theav
eraget
imet
aken
byt
heIndi
ancour
tsfordeci
dingcasev
ari
esbet
ween5t o15year
s.

I
n-spi
teoftheconst
ituti
onalguarant
ees,j
udici
aldeci
sionsandt hereportsbyvari
ous
hi
ghpoweredCommi tteestheconceptofspeedyjust
icehasremainedanel usi
vegoal
.
About0.
18mi l
l
ionunder -
tr
ial
sarei njai
lbecauseoft henon-
disposalofthecasesin
ti
me.TheGovernmenthast ospendtothetuneofRs.3,610mil
li
onpery earonthi
s.

Compl
exr
easonsf
orpendency
:

Lackofr esponsivenessand t r
anspar encyin admini
strati
on increase i
n accesst o
i
nformati
onandi nsti
tuti
onofcases, ri
sei npopul
ati
on,radicalchangesi nthepat
ternof
l
it
igati
on,mul t
if
arious lit
igat
ion,i nadequate str
ength of j udges/judi
cialoffi
cer
s,
adjour
nments,etc.Inadequatej udgest rengt
ht hr
oughoutt hecount ryist hesimil
ar
bi
ggestfact
orforhugebackl ogofcases.

Const
antpr
essur
eanddemor
ali
zi
ngofTRI
ALCOURTS:

26
Sour
ce:
htt
p:/
/www.
kar
.ni
c.i
n/f
njpc/
cwcm&adr
.ht
ml

40
Thatthet ri
alj
udgesinIndi
awor kunderachargedat
mosphereandconst
antl
yundera
psychologicalpr
essure has been even j
udi
cial
l
yrecogni
zed.The Supreme Cour
t
27
observed:

“Thelowerj
udi ci
alof f
icer
smost l
yworkunderachar gedatmospher eandar
econst
antl
y
undera psy chologicalpressurewith allthecont est
antsand t hei
rlawyer
salmost
breat
hingdownt heirnecks–mor ecor
r ect
lyupt otheirnostr
il
s.Theydonothavethe
benefi
tofadet achedat mosphereoft hehighercour t
st othinkcooll
yanddecide
pati
entl
y.Everyer r
or,howev er
,grossi
tmayl ook,shoul
dnot ,t
herefor
e,beatt
ri
but
edto
i
mpr opermot i
ve.
"

Anot heruni quepr oblem ofI ndiancour tsy stem ist hatappel l
at ecourtsdemor al
ize
subor dinatecour tsbyr ev ersingj udgment sanddecr eespassedbyt hesecour tsand
adver ser emarksi nt hej udgmenti t
selfar emader egar dingpr opr i
etyofsubor di nate
j
udiciar y.Thehi gherjudiciar ylooksdownuponi t.Appellatecour tsdonotappr oacht he
casef orthef i
rsttime.Ther awmat eri
alsf ortheappel latecour tar ealr
eadycol lected,
assembl edandf ocusedunl ikei nthet ri
alcour t
.Theappel l
at ecour thearsonlytheor al
argument sinat ensionf reeat mospher eandi thaspl entyoft i
met ocomet oconcl usion.
Therei senought imef ort heappel l
atecour tt othi
nkandr e-
thinkonanyl egali ssue.
Therei saqual it
ativedi fferencei nthev ari
ety,nov elt
yandmet hodi nthedeci sion-
maki ngbyt heappel lat
ecour t.Apartf r
om t hat,unlikei nt hetrialcourt,t
heappel l
ate
courtsgener all
yhav esubst antialcont r
ibutionf r
om t hewel l
-prepared l
awy ers.The
assistancegi vent ot heappel latecour tgenerallyisfarbet terthant heassistancegi ven
tothet r
ialcourt.

Howev erthepoweroft heappell

atecourtsi
susedmostfrequentl
ytof i
ndf aultwi
ththe
tr
ialj
udgei neachandev erymatterofthedeci
sion-
maki
ng.Trialj
udgesaret reat
edwith
verylit
tlerespect,even though itis notproperforthe appell
ate courtt o make
derogator
yr emarksagainstt
ri
alj
udge.

nBr
I ajKishor
eThakurv.Uni
onofI ndi
aandOthers28,Just
iceK.T.Thomasspeaki
ngf or
t
heSupremeCourtwhil
edeprecat
ingthecaust
icandsev erecensuremadebythesingle

27
K.
P.Ti
war
iv.St
ateofM.
P 1994Supp(
1)SCC540
28
1997)4SCC65,
at66and70.

41
j
udgeofthePatnaHighCour
tagai
nstt
heSeni
orDi
str
ictandSessi
onsJudgeofBi
har
Judi
ci
alSer
vice,
obser
ved:

"Judicialrest
rai
nti sav ir
tue.A vir
tue,whi chshal lbeconcomi tantofev eryjudicial
dispositi
on.Itisanat t
ri
buteofaJudge,whi chhei sobli
gedt okeepr efur
bishedf r
om
ti
met ot i
me,parti
cularl
ywhiledeali
ngwi t
hmat tersbeforehi m whet heri nexerciseof
appellateorr evi
sionalorot hersupervi
soryj uri
sdicti
on.Hi ghercour tsmustr emind
themsel vesconstantl
ythathighert
iersarepr ovi
dedi nthejudicialhierarchytosetr i
ght
error
s,whi chcouldpossiblyhavecreptint hef i
ndingsoror dersofcour tsatt helower
ti
ers.Suchpower sar ecertai
nlynotforbelchingdiatri
beatjudi ci
alper sonagesi nlower
cadre.”
29
nSt
I at
eofRajast
hanv .PrakashChand&ot her
s ,depr
ecat
ingt
hetendencyofcert
ain
j
udgesi nmaki
ngdisparagingandderogat
oryremarksi
nint
emperat
elanguage,i
twas
observ
ed:

"Thef oundat i
onofoursy stem whichi sbasedont hei ndependenceandi mpartiali
tyof
thosewhomani twi llbeshakeni fdisparagi
ngandder ogat oryr
emar ksareper mittedto
bemadeagai nstBr otherJudgeswi thimpunity
.Itishight imethatwer eali
zet hatthe
much- cherishedj udiciali
ndependencehast obepr otectednotonlyf rom outsi
def orces
butalsof r
om t hosewhoar eani ntegralpartofthesy stem.Danger sf r
om wi t
hinhav e
muchl argerandgr eaterpotentialf
orhar mt handanger sfrom outside.Weal onei nthe
j
udicialfami l
ycanguar dagai nstsuchdanger sfrom wi t
hin.Oneoft hesurermeanst o
achievei tisbyt heJudgesr emaini
ngci rcumspectandsel f-di
sci
plinedinthedi scharge
oftheirjudicialfunctions."

LowConv i
cti
onRate:Theav erageconv icti
onrateofcr imesundertheIndi
anPenal Code
hasbeen39. 02percentaspert heinformationfr
om t heNationalCri
meRecor dsBureau
oftheMi ni
stryofHomeAf fairs.Thisrateofconv icti
onhasbeenconst antfrom 1995to
1999.Ther easonsforpoorconv ict
ionr ateareatt
ributedtothenatureoftheprocedural
l
aws, practi
cesandpr ocedur esfoll
owedbycr iminalcourtsandtheinadequaciesofthe
30
i
nvestigati
ngandprosecut i
ngagenci es

Evenafterpr
ovi
dingamechani
sm foranalt
ernat
ivedisput
er esol
uti
ontheSupr
eme
Courtwasoftheviewt
hatTheArbi
tr
ati
onandConcil
iat
ionAct,1996suff
ersf
rom t
wo
29
(
1998)1SCC1
30
LowConv i
cti
onRateInCriminalCases,
August22,2001,PI
B
Release;
htt
p:/
/pi
b.ni
c.i
n/ar
chieve/l
rel
eng/
lyr
2001/
raug2001/22082001/
r220820012.
html

42
def
ect
s:

a)Therei s no pr
ovi
sion i
nt he Actf oraccepti
ng the awards orsubsequent
proceedi
ngsincourt
swher eappl
icat
ionsarefi
ledforset
tingasi
detheawards.

b)Forchal l
engi
ngt
heawar
d,t
heaggr
iev
edpar
thast
oagai
nst
artf
rom t
hedi
str
ict
31
cour
t.

The Ar bitrat
ion and Conci l
iati
on Act ,
1996 was introduced inv i
ew of growing
compl exit
iesofmoder ncommer cialt ransacti
onsi nwakeofgl obal
izati
onofeconomy
which necessi t
ated an eff
ectiver edressalmechani sm forspeedy set t
lementof
domest icandcommer ci
aldisput essoast oallow unint
err
uptedf l
ow oft r
adeand
commer ce.Thi shasbeenpossi blet hroughmeasur esofconci li
ati
on,mediati
onand
arbi
trati
onwhi chareconsideredr elati
v elyl
essexpensiveandspeedyascompar edto
32
courtproceedi ngswhicharedilat
or yandcumber some.

Ther
eforether
ehasbeenashi ftt
othealternat
ivemodeofdi
sputeresol
uti
onwhichi
s
notanalter
nati
vetoourpresentj
udi
cialsystem,buti
tonl
yfurt
herstheconst
it
uti
onal
mandateofprovi
dingj
ust
ice.

Arbit
rat
ionhassocialpurposetoful
fil
ltoday.I
tisofgreatimpor tanceast her
ehasbeen
33
anexplosionofli
ti
gat i
onincourtoflawest abli
shedbyt hesov ereign. Thecour t
sar e
ful
lofli
ti
gati
onwhi chispendingfr
om al ongtime;ther
eforeitshouldbet heendeavorof
thosewhoar eassociatedwit
hdispensingjusti
ce,t
odosoi nanef fecti
vemanner .

31
M/
sCent
erot
radeMi
ner
als&met
alsI
nc.V.Hi
ndust
anCooperl
td.200611SC245
32
SBP&CoV.Pat
elEngi
neer
ingLt
d& anot
her
.20058SCC618
33
Foodcor
por
ati
onofI
ndi
aV.
Jogi
nderPalMohi
nderPal
AIR1989SC1263

43
 CONCLUSI
ONANDSUGGESTI
ONS

“
Di
scour
agel
i
tigat
ion;per
suadey
ournei
ghbor
stocompr
omi
se,whenev
ery
oucan.
Pointouttot
hem t
henor
malwi
nneri
softenar
ealloser
;inf
ee,expensesandwasteof
ti
me.Asa peace maker,t
he l
awyerhasa superi
oropport
unityofbeing a good
34
person.
”

ADRr epresentsonl yachangei nfor

um,notinthesubst
anti
ver i
ghtsofparti
es.ADRi s
noti ntendedt osuppl antaltoget
herthetradi
ti
onalmeansofr esol
vi
ngdi sputesby
meansofl iti
gation.Itonlyt r
adestheproceduresandopportunit
yforr ev
iew oft he
courtroom f orthesi mplici
ty,i
nfor
malit
yandexpedit
ionofADR.Thepr i
maryobj ectof
ADRi sav oidanceofv exati
on,expenseanddelayandt hepromot i
onoft heidealof
“excesst ojustice”.

ADRi sbasedonmor edirectparti

cipati
onbyt hedisputantsrathert
hanbei ngr unby
l
awy er s and j
udges.Thi st ype ofi nvolvementi s beli
eved t oincrease people’
s
sati
sf acti
onwit
ht heoutcomeandaswel laswi ththei
rcompl i
ancewi t
ht hesett
lement
reached.MostADRpr ocessi sbasedonani ntegr
ati
veappr oach.Theyar emor eco-
operat i
veandlesscompet it
ivethanadv ersari
alcourtbasedmet hodli
kel i
ti
gati
on.For
thi
sr easonADRt endstogener at
elessescal at
ionandill
-will
betweenpar ti
es.

Ethi
calissuesshoul dbegivendueregardwhi
l
eadmi nist
rat
ingtheADRt echniques.The
i
ntegrit
yandf airnessoftheADRpr ocessshouldbemai nt
ained.Thefaithreposedby
thepartiesintheADRsy stem byagreei
ngtoresol
vethei
rdisputest
hroughADRshoul d
ber espected;otherwise anat t
emptt oputi nanADR mechani sm woul dbecome
35
futi
l
e.

Thef r
amewor kofADRmechani sm thathasemer gedi scomprehensi v
e.Butit
ssuccess
dependsmuchont hewi l
lofthepeopl etowor ki tupinther i
ghtspi r
itandwithgood
fai
th.Seriouseff
ort
st oshifttoADRdeser vetobemade.Thepar t
ieshav etobemade
awareoft headvantageofadopt i
nganADRmechani sm.Unfort
unatelyoneort heother
partyisinter
est
edindel ayandi snotbotheredei theraboutthecostorconsequences
andwoul dnothesitatetot akeaf al
se,unethicalandwhol l
yunpr inci
pledstandt o
benefi
tf r
om thedelay.Therefor
eADRasat oolf ordisput
eresolutioncanonlywor kif
theatti
tudeoftheparti
est ounnecessaryli
ti
gati
onchanges.

34
Abr
aham Li
ncol
n,Pr
esi
dentUni
tedSt
atesofAmer
ica
35
Supr
anot
e21

44
Thet winbenefit
sofADRmechani smsareessenti
allyt
imeandmoney .Asatisf
actory
solut
ion is an added bonus.I
fwe compar e proceedings oft
he cour
ttot hatof
proceedingconductedbeforear
bit
ralt
ri
bunal
,fol
lowinginfer
encei
sdeduci
bleastot he
benefit
sofar bi
tr
ati
on:

Tabl
eofBenef
it
s

COURT ARBI
TRATI
ON

ADJUDI
CATOR NoChoi
ceDesi
gnat
ed Can Choose Qual
i
fied
Per
son

JURI
SDI
CTI
ON MayBeDi
sput
ed Agr
eedupon

PLACE Choi
ceoft
hecl
aimant Choi
ceofbot
hthepar
ti
es

TI
MEOFHEARI
NG Deci
sionoft
heCour
t Deci
sionoft
hePar
ti
es

PROCEDURE St
ri
ctCPCappl
i
es I
tsI
nfor
mal

EVI
DENCE St
ri
ct appl i
cat
ion of I
tsi
nfor
mal
Ev
idenceact

Theanalysissofari
ndi
cat
esthatwhil
ethebenef
it
soflit
igati
oni
scutanddri
ed,t
her
e
aresubstanti
alsi
debenef
it
sinfol
lowingt
hearbi
trat
iontrackpr
ovi
dediti
sdoneina
properway.

Simi
laranal
ysisofcompari
sonofothermodesofADRwit
hpr oceedi
ngsinaregul
ar
cour
tofl aw r
eveal
sthesamer esul
ts,wi
thADRmethodf
air
ingbet t
eri
ndispensi
ng
j
usti
cethanregul
arcour
toflaw.

Thi
sleadssuppor
ttothef actt
hatADRmechani
smsar
ever
yvi
talandhav
eimmense
val
ueinourdi
sput
eredressalsy
stem.

Al
ter
nat
iveDi
sput
eResol
uti
onmechani
smsar
einaddi
ti
ont
ocour
tsandcompl
ement
t
hem.Thet
radi
ti
onal
syst
em ofdi
sput
eresol
uti
oni
saf
fl
ict
edwi
thi
nor
dinat
edel
ays.

45
Howev
ert
hebackl
oganddel
ayappeart
obemor
eaccent
uat
edt
hani
nmoder
n-day
I
ndi
a.ADRmechani
smspl
ayani
mpor
tantr
olei
ndoi
ngawaywi
thdel
aysand
congest
ioni
ncour
ts.TheI
ndi
anci
vi
lj
ust
icesy
stem ser
vest
hei
nter
est
sofadi
ver
se
andexpl
odi
ngpopul
ati
on,
thel
argestdemocr
acyandt
hesev
ent
hlar
gestnat
ional
mar
keti
nthewor
ld.

Thi
sfor
midabl
eresponsi
bil
i
ty,
combi
nedwi
tht
her
ecentdr
ivet
owar
dgr
eat
erpol
i
tical
account
abi
l
ityi
nthepubl
i
cadmi
nist
rat
ionandpost
-1991mar
ketr
efor
ms,
placesev
er-
gr
eat
erpr
essur
eont
heci
vi
lj
ust
icesy
stem.Anest
imat
edbackl
ogof25mi
l
li
oncases
andr
epor
teddel
aysi
nsomeur
banar
easi
nexcessoft
went
yyear
s,cur
rent
lyunder
mine
t
heef
fect
iveenf
orcementoft
hesubst
ant
iveci
vi
landcommer
cial
right
s.Backl
ogand
del
ayhav
ebr
oadpol
i
tical
andeconomi
cimpl
i
cat
ionsf
orI
ndi
ansoci
ety
.

I
fIndi
afai
l
stof
aceandmeett
hesechal
l
enges,
itwi
l
lnotbeabl
etor
eal
i
zef
ull
yit
slegal
commi
tmentt
odemocr
ati
candl
i
ber
aleconomi
cpol
i
cies.I
ncasessuchasmot
or
acci
dentcl
aims,
thev
ict
imsmayr
equi
ret
hecompensat
iont
obepai
dwi
thoutdel
ayi
n
or
dert
omeetmedi
cal
andot
herexpenses.I
nmat
ter
ssuchast
hese,
Alt
ernat
ive
Di
sput
eResol
uti
onmechani
smsl
i
keLokAdal
atcanhel
pvi
cti
msobt
ainspeedyr
eli
ef.

I
ntheul
ti
mat
eanal
ysi
sitmaybeconcl
udedt
hatt
hewi
deni
nggapbet
weent
he
commonpeopl
eandt
hej
udi
ciar
yisi
ndeedaser
iouscauseofconcer
nforal
lthosewho
deal
wit
hthej
udi
ci
aryi
sindeedaser
iouscauseofconcer
nforal
lthosewhodeal
wit
h
t
headmi
nist
rat
ionofj
ust
ice.Theef
fect
iveut
il
izat
ionofADRsy
stemswoul
dgoal
ong
wayi
npl
uggi
ngt
hel
oophol
ewhi
chi
sobst
ruct
ingt
hepat
hofj
ust
ice.

Theconcept
sofal
ter
nat
ivemodesofdi
sput
eresol
uti
onshoul
dbedeepl
yingr
ainedi
n
t
hemi
ndsoft
hel
i
tigant
s,l
awy
ersandt
hej
udgessoast
oensur
ethatADRmet
hodsi
n
di
spensat
ionofj
ust
icear
efr
equent
lyadopt
ed.Awar
enessneedst
obecr
eat
edamongst
t
hepeopl
eaboutt
heut
il
it
yofADRandsi
mul
taneousst
epsneedt
obet
akenf
or
dev
elopi
ngper
sonnel
whowoul
dbeabl
etouseADRmet
hodsef
fect
ivel
ywi
thi
ntegr
it
y.

I
nthePr
eambl
e,t
hewor
ds‘
j
ust
ice,
li
ber
ty,
equal
i
tyandf
rat
erni
tyt
hesef
ourpi
l
lar
sfor
m
t
hei
nfr
ast
ruct
ure,
suppor
ti
ngt
hewhol
eIndi
ansy
stem t
obebui
l
t.Br
eaki
ngordamagi
ng
46
orweakeni
nganyoneoft
hesepi
l
lar
swi
l
ldamaget
heent
ir
est
ruct
uresi
nceev
ery
onei
s
af
undament
alpi
l
larandeachi
sti
ght
lyi
nter
li
nkedt
oeachot
herandt
hesef
ourf
ormsa
si
ngl
eint
erdependentr
eal
i
ty.

Thesy
stem ofdi
spensi
ngj
ust
icei
nIndi
ahascomeundergr
eatst
ressf
orsev
eral
r
easonsmai
nlybecauseoft
hehugependencyofcasesi
ncour
ts.I
nIndi
a,t
henumber
ofcasesf
il
edi
nthecour
tshasshownat
remendousi
ncr
easei
nrecenty
ear
sresul
ti
ng
i
npendencyanddel
aysunder
li
ningt
heneedf
oral
ter
nat
ivedi
sput
eresol
uti
onmet
hods.

Wi
tht
headv
entoft
heal
ter
nat
edi
sput
eresol
uti
on,
ther
eisnewav
enuef
ort
hepeopl
eto
set
tl
ethei
rdi
sput
es.Theset
tl
ementofdi
sput
esi
nLokAdal
atqui
ckl
yhasacqui
red
goodpopul
ari
tyamongt
hepubl
i
candt
hishasr
eal
l
ygi
venr
iset
oanewf
orcet
o
al
ter
nat
edi
sput
eresol
uti
onandt
hiswi
l
lnodoubtr
educet
hependencyi
nlawCour
ts.

Thescopeofal
ter
nat
edi
sput
eresol
uti
onsy
stem (
ADR)hasbeenhi
ghl
i
ght
edbyt
he
Hon’
bleChi
efJust
iceofI
ndi
ainhi
sspeechi
nthej
ointconf
erenceoft
heChi
efMi
nist
ers
oft
heSt
ateandChi
efJust
iceofHi
ghCour
ts,
hel
datVi
gyanBhav
an,
NewDel
hion
Sept
ember18,
2004andi
nsi
stedt
heCour
tst
otr
yset
tl
ementofcasesmor
eef
fect
ivel
y
byusi
ngal
ter
nat
edi
sput
eresol
uti
onsy
stem soast
obr
ingdownt
hel
argependencyof
casesi
nlawCour
ts.

Al
ter
nat
eDi
sput
eResol
uti
oni
srapi
dlydev
elopi
ngatnat
ional
andi
nter
nat
ional
lev
el,
of
fer
ingsi
mpl
ermet
hodsofr
esol
vi
ngdi
sput
es.I
ncr
easi
ngt
rendofADRser
vicescan
easi
l
ybei
nfer
redf
rom t
hegr
owt
hof“
Arbi
tr
ati
oncl
ause”i
nmaj
ori
tyofcont
ract
s.Ther
e
hasbeenasi
gni
fi
cantgr
owt
hinnumberofl
awschool
cour
ses,
dipl
omas,
semi
nar
s,et
c.
f
ocusi
ngonal
ter
nat
edi
sput
eresol
uti
onandr
ati
onal
i
zingi
tsef
fect
ual
nessi
n
pr
ocessi
ngwi
der
angeofdi
sput
einsoci
ety
.

Last
ly,
thei
mpor
tanceofADRmechani
sm canbeapt
lyputi
nthewor
dsofAbr
aham
Li
ncol
n:

“Di
scouragel
it
igat
ionper
suadeyournei
ghborst
ocompromisewhenev eryoucanpoint
outtothem how t
henomi nalwi
nneri
softenareall
oser
,infees,expenses,wast
eof
ti
me…”.
47
 BI
BLI
OGRAPHY
Books:
-

1)ADR-Edi
tedbyP.
C.RaoandWi
l
li
am Shef
fi
eld

2)Russel
lonAr
bit
rat
ion-18thEdi
ti
on

3)TheJudgeSpeaks-DrJust
iceA.
R.Lakshmanan

4)Jur
ispr
udencebyPound,
1959Edi
ti
on

5)P.
V.Kane,
Hist
oryofDhar
mashast
raVol
.I
II,
1946

6)
.Indi
ankanoon.
com

7)l
awoct
opus.
com

48