ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION By Vrinda Agrawal

“It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.”1The concept of conflict management through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is although a different form of justice delivering system. Different from what was practiced through ages yet is none less in keeping alive the spirit of justice. Due to long and money consuming proceedings of the courts it was a necessity to look for alternative methods which can ensure speedy resolution of disputes with less money. In a landmark case it was observed that “Interminable, time consuming, complex and expensive Court procedures impelled jurists to search for an alternative Forum, less formal, more effective and speedy for resolution of disputes, avoiding procedural claptrap and this led them to Arbitration Act, 1940.”2  ADR has vested upon it all the demerits of traditional

courts and has been proven to be one of the most efficacious mechanisms to resolve commercial disputes without falling deep into complexities of litigation. This new system to dispute resolution facilitates the parties to resolve disputes in more cost-effective as well as in a speedy way. It also provides the parties more efficacies along with the opportunity to reduce hostility. It also resolves conflict in a peaceful manner in a more private manner as it is not available to the public and non-formal environment as it is done outside court making resolution more viable,  economic and effective.There are broadly four types of ADR namely: negotiation, arbitration, mediation and conciliation.

Negotiation is a non-binding procedure in which dissuasions between the parties are initiated without the intervention of any third party in a common objective to arrive at a negotiated settlement of dispute. No lawyer or third parties are generally involved. There are no technicalities or laid down difficult or time consuming procedures.

Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution outside the court where the parties refer to one or more persons appointed as an arbitrator(s) who reviews the case and imposes a decision which is legally binding on all parties. It is a quasi-judicial method. It is a preferred dispute resolution tool in both domestic as well as international trade. An arbitration which is conducted without the resources of the institution is considered to be Ad Hoc Arbitration. It is an arbitration agreement done and arranged by the parties itself. If there is an agreement between both the parties, it is enforceable as a contract.

Mediation is a non-binding resolution process in which a non-partial third party known as mediator tries to facilitate the process. Parties however are not bound to the findings of the mediator and can resolve disputes on their own terms. In mediation there is generally a win-win situation. Presentations are generally limited by agreed rules and the parties control the process and outcome.

Conciliation is a resolution process where a third party known as conciliator(s) tries to assist the parties involved to resolve the dispute mutually and arrive at a satisfactory and agreed settlement. The agreement reached by the parties through settlement and is authenticated by the conciliator(s) is binding on the parties.

All these types are all voluntary, structured and have a proper laid down procedure. The justice system of India was under immense stress due to the increase in the number of pendency cases. In the recent years, India has observed an increase in cases and therefore an increase in pendency of cases which made it even more necessary to introduce a system which can reduce this burden on the courts and make it more efficient. The system of ADR was introduced with a hope to release a great amount of burden by resolving disputes in a speedy way. Several techniques of ADR have been developed on scientific lines in countries like the USA, UK, France, Canada, China, Japan, South Africa, Singapore and Australia. ADR has not only reduced the pendency of the cases and has been more cost efficient but has also established a forum which is less formal and less complicated to resolve disputes. ADR offers a promising opportunity to make the justice delivering system more favorable.

The laws established in India related to ADR are not yet to the standards of the International ADR Laws but there have been many developments in this field and many reforms have taken place to make this dispute resolution process more efficient but many reforms are yet to take place. It will not be out of place to say that the field to alternative dispute resolution is bound to grow by leaps and bounds in the times to come.

¹ LJ EARL WARREN

² Guru Nanak Foundation V. Rattan Singh & Sons 1981 AIR 2075, 1982 SCR (1) 842 India.