Effectiveness of Mediation in Present Justice Delivery System: A Critical Study

Abstract

Justice delivery system is the process by which the legal system of government is executed to administer justice. The primary goal of the Justice delivery system is to provide justice for all. The concept of justice is as old as the origin and growth of human society. While living in a society, a man faces lots of conflict of interests and to address these conflicts, necessity arises for the court system. In India, there is a hierarchy of courts with the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Court of respective state or states and the District Courts or Subordinate Courts at the bottom. No doubt, this hierarchy of courts has its own merits but it has demerits also as it increases the cost of litigation and delays the finalization of litigation. These demerits make it imperative that we must have some alternate system which could provide cheaper and speedier justice. Alternative Dispute Resolution system allows the parties to settle their disputes without litigation. Alternative dispute resolution system includes Arbitration, Mediation, Conciliation, Negotiation and lok adalat. Mediation is one of the best method of alternative dispute resolution system. In mediation, the person who sits as a mediator is usually a retired judge or an experienced lawyer. The mediator is selected by both of the parties mutually. The Mediator helps both the parties to come to an agreement amicably. He also helps the parties to put their views and claims in a joint session and thereafter, he makes all efforts to settle the dispute. However, mediation does not have the binding effect. The settlement made through the process of mediation is not enforceable as the decree of the court as it is in the case of an arbitral award, which has the status and recognition of the decree, passed by a civil court.