SYLLABUS SECTION: GS II (GOVERNANCE)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice has recommended substantial changes to the Draft Mediation Bill. The panel has particularly cautioned the Centre against making pre-litigation mediation compulsory.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE DRAFT MEDIATION BILL:

• The Draft Mediation Bill recognizes that mediation has come of age and needs to be treats as a profession.
• The Bill acknowledges the importance of institutes to train mediators, and service providers to provide structured mediation under their rules.
• It provides for pre-litigation mediation.
• The Bill does away with the confusion emanating from using both expressions “mediation” and “conciliation” in different statutes by opting for the former in accordance with international practice, and defining it widely to include the latter.
• It recognizes online dispute resolution, a process that is going to move mediation from the wings to centre-stage in a world that COVID-19 has changed.
• the Bill treats international mediation when conducts in India as a domestic mediation. The settlement under the latter is given the status of a judgment or decree of a court.

Conclusion:

• The government’s attempt to have a standalone mediation law is positive because of the beneficial effect it will have in reducing the backlog of cases in the Indian judicial system.
• The applicability of pre-litigation mediation will be a challenge for disputants who may prefer to litigate.
• Therefore, the Bill should give a choice in this regard and specify that only certain types of disputes should be directs for pre-litigation mediation.

Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE: THE  HINDU