Mediation is a process by which a neutral third-party mediator tries and assists both parties in attempting to settle the dispute without judging the merits of the case. The Mediator must be a neutral party to the mediation. Mediators range in training from practicing attorneys, retired judges, or other professionals to highly trained mediators who work full or part-time in the specialized field of mediation.
In India and around the world we are undergoing an issue with the way in which litigation in general functions. Today, the process of litigation is very time-consuming and takes many years to resolve civil disputes or disputes of such nature, over which the burden of cost is also very high on both the parties to a litigation dispute. Over the years now, Mediation has become one of the fastest-growing methods of resolving disputes around the world. This is because it allows the parties to relook their options and come up with amicable solutions that are helpful to both parties, helping maintain a cordial relationship between the parties.
Why Mediation over Litigation?
The process of Litigation has been known to be effective but it is also known to be very time-consuming, expensive and the justice provided at times is completely delayed that such justice holds no ground. As it has been stated, ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’. It is important to provide justice to all seeking it, but certain factors need to be kept in mind.
The rise of Mediation has occurred for the reason that it is a favorable method of resolving disputes between parties amicably without the parties forming any bitter relationship against each other. It is not time-consuming nor is it as expensive as the method of litigation. Hence, many people who need to resolve their disputes have been choosing to opt for the method of Mediation.
The method of Mediation is less formal, people-friendly, less complicated, and allows the parties to a dispute to freely interact and communicate with each other to understand the root cause of their conflict, identifying their underlying interests, and helps them focus on finding out the solution themselves. Such an approach re-kinders relationships and also saves them time and money both the parties would spend in litigation, as there is barely any client/party interaction when it comes to litigation, which creates an area for much confusion between the parties.
Conclusion:
The backlog and overload of cases on the Courts around India have led to the tremendous delay in completing cases. This has caused people to opt for other methods of Dispute Resolution via Alternate Dispute Resolution Methods. Currently, the most popular alternative method of dispute resolution is Mediation for reasons as stated above and many other reasons. There needs to be a higher level of awareness raised in terms of the existence of such methods to the masses so that they could understand its benefits and choose to opt for it. Encouraging, mediation as the way forward for resolving disputes can help speed up the process of dispute resolution on a whole by reducing the burden of the Courts of Law as well.
