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Whenever there is a legal dispute, people tend to threaten the other party in the name of Courts. Maybe that’s why Courts are overburdened with lakhs of matters pending for adjudication. To overcome this burden, the government as well as other authorities are promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods. There are several ADR methods which can help parties settle their disputes without going to Courts. It includes arbitration, mediation, negotiation, conciliation, Lok Adalat, etc. The most efficient, and majorly discussed methods of ADR are mediation and arbitration, confined to resolving civil disputes.
Arbitration and Mediation are among the popular ADR modes for resolving the disputes out of Court. Arbitration is governed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. On the other hand, mediation ought to be governed by the newly enacted Mediation Act, 2023.
Arbitration can be understood as Court proceedings carried out without traditional Court, where the one or more arbitrator(s) is appointed with consent of both the parties. Such arbitrator goes through the evidence and arguments just like a Judge, and the decision is termed as arbitral award, which holds binding value apart from a few situations, when the same can be challenged before the Court of law.
On the other hand, mediation goes, as the term suggests, when a neutral person tries to mediate the dispute between parties, suggesting possible solutions as per the applicable laws, not going by strictly. The idea of mediation is not to find who is right or wrong, but to find the middle point where both the parties agree. Mediation agreement signed by both the parties usually has a binding effect.
Arbitration and Mediation, both require efficient lawyers to assist during the process to safeguard the legal interests of both the parties.
If parties to the dispute consent to resolve their matter through arbitration, both need a lawyer who will help represent them legally before the arbitrator. Since arbitration is an out-of-Court procedure, parties have several interests at stake. An arbitration lawyer helps take care of the interests to make sure that the procedure is concluded without any bias. It is not just bias but the procedure should be duly followed and correct laws should be applied by the arbitrator before concluding anything in the arbitration award. An advocate for arbitration has to bve vigilant enough to raise concerns before the Court concerned in case anything goes south for their client. Lawyers for arbitration at Online Legal Query assist the clients and also represent them during arbitration proceedings as and when required.
Advocates need to get certain mediation training to act as a neutral one, a mediator in India. Mediation lawyers help the parties to reach a common ground to settle their dispute. They listen to both and suggest feasible options on resolution of dispute in India. Role of lawyers in mediation is very common in matrimonial disputes.
The Arbitration and Mediation Act, 1996 does not specify about the specific profession of the person who can be appointed as an arbitrator. Thus, a lawyer can be appointed as the arbitrator if both the parties agree to such appointment. The perks of having a lawyer appointed as arbitrator is that they are well aware of the legal processes and the applicable laws.
The scope for interference by Courts in mediation or arbitration proceedings is minimal. That is why the two are termed as alternative dispute resolution or out-of-court resolution. In case the proceedings do not go as per laws, or some kind of defiance or deviation is observed on part of the arbitrator, mediator, or the parties involved, one may seek Court’s interference. While resolution is the ultimate goal for ADR, the idea still remains to uphold the essence of justice among all.