Committee Report : The Mediation Bill | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• The goal of any justice system is to provide quick and affordable justice to all. However, due to the large size and population of the country and an increase in disputes, the Judiciary is overburdened with litigation. There is a low judge-to-population ratio and unfilled vacancies at all levels, leading to an unmanageable caseload.
• The Mediation Bill aims to encourage and facilitate mediation, particularly institutional mediation, to resolve civil and commercial disputes. It also provides for the enforcement of mediated settlement agreements, the registration of mediators, community mediation, and online mediation as a cost-effective process.

Standalone Mediation Legislation

Currently, mediation in India is recognized in certain laws, such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Companies Act, 2013, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. However, there is no standalone legislation for mediation in India yet. The Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre, which was inaugurated in 2005, is India's first court-annexed facility with a mediation centre in every district, and it has significantly reduced the pendency of referred cases.

Pre-litigation Mediation

• The Mediation Bill mandates parties to attend at least two mediation sessions, and a cost may be imposed on them if they fail to attend without reasonable cause. However, the Committee expressed concerns that mandating pre-litigation mediation may cause delays in cases, and therefore recommended reconsidering it as an optional process and introducing it in a phased manner.
• Additionally, the Bill provides for pre-litigation mediation to be applicable to matters pending before a tribunal, but the Committee noted that there is a lack of clarity regarding how such matters can come under the purview of pre-litigation mediation.

Timeline for mediation

The Bill states that the mediation process should be completed within 180 days and it can be extended for another 180 days if necessary. However, the Committee suggests reducing it to 90 days with an option of extending it for 60 days.

Disputes not suitable for mediation

• The First Schedule of the Bill specifies which disputes are not suitable for mediation. The central government has the power to modify this list, which the Committee finds excessive.
• The Committee suggests reducing the number of disputes in the Schedule to ensure that most disputes go through pre-litigation mediation. It also recommends that cases involving disabled individuals should not be excluded from mediation and that courts should be authorized to refer appropriate cases for mediation.
• Additionally, the Schedule contains disputes that affect the rights of third parties. The Committee suggests allowing mediation in such cases, particularly in matrimonial cases involving children.

Mediation Council of India

The Mediation Bill proposes the establishment of the Mediation Council of India by the central government, which will have a chairperson and two full-time members with experience in mediation or alternate dispute resolution. However, the Committee expressed concern that this might lead to the appointment of members with experience in ADR mechanisms other than mediation. The Committee suggested that the Mediation Council of India should be the single authority to regulate all mediation service providers and institutes instead of having multiple regulating authorities for mediation service providers and institutes.

Confidentiality in proceedings

• The Bill mandates that parties involved in a mediation proceeding must maintain the confidentiality of information related to the proceedings. 
• However, the Committee noted that there is no provision for punishment or liability for breaching confidentiality. 
• The Committee recommended that the Bill should provide a provision for cases of breach of confidentiality.

International Mediation

• The scope of the Bill excludes mediations taking place beyond the borders of India.
• The Singapore Convention outlines a structure for enforcing settlement agreements from global mediations.
• The Committee proposed a review of the definition of international mediation to align the Bill with the Convention in the future.

Conclusion

To expedite the resolution of disputes, the relevant aspects should be implemented following consultations with concerned parties.