Referral judges trained in mediation, resolution methods

Dimapur, Feb. 9 (EMN): A training programme for referral judges was conducted on February 9 under the aegis of the Mediation & Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) in collaboration with the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA), in Kohima. The organisers issued a press release on Saturday offering details about the event. During the training, 18 judicial officers from Nagaland received training from the MCPC’s structured curriculum of ‘mediation training for referral judges,’ the updates stated. The training was led by a trainer A A Nandgaonkar, judicial officer from Maharashtra; and administered by an MCPC observer, Dharmender Rana, additional registrar at the Supreme Court of India and member-secretary of the MCPC, the updates stated. Dharmender Rana introduced the mediation training session. He spoke about the preamble to the Constitution of India. Securing Justice to all the citizens is the primary goal of the nation, the updates stated. “Now, with the three crores of cases pending in the country, it will take another 300 hundred years to dispose of all the pending cases with the present justice delivery system in India,” Rana said. “The need of the hour is to resort to mediation process which promises to secure the spirit of the Preamble by assurance of speedy justice to the citizens of the country. The role of referral judges is vital in bringing those cases which can be settled through mediation process which is one of the most effective alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods.” The resource person emphasized on taking advantage of the ADR which the press release said ‘provides flexibility, saves valuable time and money, and prevents the stress of lengthy trials.’ Further, the MCPC observer explained about the various methods of dispute resolution such as arbitration, conciliation, mediation and the Lok Adalat. “Mediation being a part of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism could be one of the best strategies for speedy resolution of dispute and to lessen the burden of pendency of cases in the courts,” the gathering was told. Likewise, AA Nandgaonkar showed the guidelines for the referral judges and a check list of various processes of mediation. The training highlighted various mediation rules and procedures and the role of referral judges. “The role of a referral judge is of great significance in court-referred mediation and success of mediation process will depend on the proper selection and reference of suitable cases by referral judges,” the organisers quoted him as having said. The press release stated that the concept of mediation received legislative recognition in India for the first time in India in the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947. Arbitration, as a dispute resolution process was recognised as early as 1879 and also found a place in section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code of 1908. By enacting the Legal Services Authority Act of 1987 the legislature vested the state legal services authorities with duties to encourage the settlement of disputes by way of negotiations, arbitration and conciliation, the updates stated. “Appropriate cases produced in a court which are suitable for mediation are referred by the Judge known as referral judge for mediation process,” it stated. Mediation is not uncommon in the Naga society; it is indirectly practiced in all decision-making processes and resolutions of conflicts by village elders and village council members. The first mediation centre at the Kohima bench of the Gauhati High Court was recently inaugurated by Justice Sharad A Bobde, judge of the Supreme Court during his maiden visit to the state on December 1 2018. Earlier in the programme, Mezivolu T Therieh, member-secretary of the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority delivered the welcome address. Therieh thanked the Mediation & Conciliation Project Committee, for imparting the training to the referral judges, the updates stated. The event was stated to be the first of its kind in the state with all the “in-service” judicial officers.