Arbitration- Dominating the future Dispute resolution mechanism -Anjali Kapoor

Since the time of Mughal rule, the grievances of the people were solved by the superior King and his counsellors in a court. This justice system has followed its way through the British era and exists yet today in this modern world. We have our Independent Judiciary consisting of a three tiered Court system. But, even after a detailed apparatus and laws, we still fail to get the speedy justice we require. According to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, While 2.84 crore cases are pending in the Subordinate Court, the backlog clogging the High Courts and Supreme Court is 43 lakh and 57,987 respectively. The gap between the number of pending cases and current cases keeps on increasing by the day. The judges can’t alone bridge the gap.

We have seen instances of failure and ineffectiveness of our judicial system. So, why is it that we still rely on it?

What is our incessant need to stick to the past traditions and not bring about a revolutionary change in an aspect as crucial as Justice?

It is time to dilute the Court’s burden by referring more cases to Arbitration methods like Negotiation, Mediation. It results in a faster and more transparent decision. It promotes active participation of the aggrieved parties and helps them to communicate and reach a mutually agreed decision. Reliability on Courts should not vanish, but merely distracted by the rising success rate of Arbitration methods. Recently the Courts have adopted hearing proceedings via video-conferencing. If the same is achieved by Arbitration, it will be much easier; the judge will have the client’s personalized attention and will reach a decision much sooner as it involves less paperwork. The three tiered Court system poses as a medium to be misused by astute culprits to delay their punishment. In Arbitration, there is no escaping. Yes, a higher appeal is allowed, but it will be more fast track than the Court’s decisions. Arbitration proceedings must be given a judicial status and authority; rather than a quasi-judicial one. Cases dealing with Divorce. Property hassle, Copyright conflicts etc. don’t weigh more seriousness as compared to a rape, murder or fraud case.

So, in my opinion, grave and multifaceted cases must be handled by the Reputed Court system and the other cases must be delegated and dealt by mode of Arbitration. It is time to break away from tradition and improve the currently flimsy situation of the Indian Judiciary.