Future of mediation cannot be secured by single law or campaign: CJI Gavai
Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai said the success of mediation would depend on sustained practices, community acceptance and dedicated infrastructure.
Bhubaneswar: Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Saturday said the future of mediation in India cannot be secured by “any single law, campaign or conference” and stressed that its success would depend on sustained practices, community acceptance and dedicated infrastructure.
Delivering the inaugural address at the second National Mediation Conference in Bhubaneswar, CJI Gavai said that while the Mediation Act, 2023 had formally recognised the practice, the real test lay in how effectively institutions, communities and professionals embraced dialogue and collaborative solutions.
“Continuous reform, adaptation and learning from experience will also be essential to ensure that mediation remains effective, accessible and relevant in diverse contexts,” he said. “Above all, the future of mediation will be determined by the commitment of judges, lawyers, mediators, community leaders and ordinary citizens alike to embrace dialogue, foster understanding and prioritise collaborative solutions over confrontation.”
The CJI pointed out that India’s traditional systems had long practised forms of community mediation. Citing examples from the freedom movement, he noted that ideological clashes among leaders were often resolved not through confrontation but through patient dialogue and negotiation. “Mediation is deeply rooted in our collective experience. Its principles are timeless tools for resolving even the most complex conflicts,” he said.
The three-day conference is focusing on the implementation of the Mediation Act, 2023, sector-specific applications ranging from corporate governance to healthcare disputes, and pre-litigation mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Discussions on accreditation, professional standards and institutional frameworks are also part of the agenda.
The CJI also emphasised the importance of taking mediation beyond the legal profession and embedding it within communities. Referring to Section 43 of the Mediation Act, 2023, which provides for community mediation with the consent of parties, he said: “This provision underscores that mediation should be cultivated as a practice of the people for the people.”
He suggested that training modules designed for judges and lawyers could be simplified and adapted for ordinary citizens in regional languages to empower communities to resolve disputes amicably. “By equipping the common people with knowledge and tools of mediation, we can foster a culture where disputes — whether social, familial or local — are addressed constructively within communities, reducing reliance on formal courts,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Suryakant of the Supreme Court said, “It fosters solutions that endure. In conventional courtrooms the outcome is often confined to a narrow frame. One side prevails, the other must concede. Mediation by contrast, expands that frame. Consider mathematics, just as a hypothetical situation. Some equations admit no solution. Some yield only one. But the most remarkable are those with infinite solutions. Disputes are also the same. Some close every door. Others allow only a single outcome. But when dialogue begins, conflicts open into many possibilities,” he said.
