Keeping in mind the ever increasing workload in courts, litigants should be made to compulsorily undergo mediation process before going to the courts, said Justice ML Mehta, chairman, Delhi Dispute Resolution Society.
Speaking at the symposium on mediation organised by the India Legal Research Foundation and APN News on Saturday, Justice Mehta said mediation has become an integral part of the court system and will lessen the pendency in the coming years.
Speaking to APN News Editor-in-Chief Rajshri Rai, Justice Mehta said mediators should be neutral and follow the well-established norms and ethics of the practise. The process of mediation is so well balanced that there is no fear of miscarriage of justice, he said.
Justice Mehta said that at a time when commerce is transcending national boundaries it is time to strengthen the regulatory norms of cross-border disputes.
Justice Mehta’s profound understanding of Alternative Dispute Resolution system led him to pioneer the establishment of the Delhi Dispute Resolution Society, an autonomous registered government society within the Law and Justice Department of the Government of India in November 2009 whilst he was serving as the Principal Secretary (Law, Justice & Legislature Affairs) in the Government of NCT of Delhi. Justice Mehta served as a Delhi High Court Judge and as a Judge at District courts in Delhi with a career spanning over four decades and continuing. He has delivered numerous landmark pronouncements during his tenure. He is the first Asian to be selected for International Fellowship on ADR in 2009.