No. PR – 175
December 20, 2021
New Delhi
The Law and Justice Committee of PHDCCI organized a ‘Discussion on the Draft Mediation Bill’ on Saturday, 18th December 2021
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized the webinar on ‘Discussion on the Draft Mediation Bill’ on Saturday, 18th December, 2021 to highlight the many practical aspects of the bill, further making it more fruitful for the respective stakeholders.
The session started with the Presidential remarks by Mr. Pradeep Multani, President, PHDCCI who spoke on various aspects of the bill including Pre-Litigation Mediation, Online Mediation etc. besides pointing-out the importance of Mediation in current scenario and why a full-fledged legislation is required in this context.
Ms. Priya Hingorani, Chair, Law & Justice Committee, PHDCCI delivered the theme address, highlighting the importance of draft mediation bill and its complex aspects. She also introduced the session and the speakers.
Mr. Sudhanshu Batra, Senior Advocate and Mediator informed about the history of Mediation and also explained the need for a separate Mediation Act along with the supposed pros and cons. He also mentioned about the challenges faced in odds of the mediation bill, flexibility of the process that deals with the relationship between the parties and how the enactment of mediation law is a step forward for reasons such as a government recognition, wide spread public awareness and its four-level bifurcation to address different types of cases.
Mr. Sriram Panchu, Senior Advocate, Mediator and Arbitrator mentioned that mediation is an excellent tool when it comes to addressing a wide range of personal, commercial, civil and corporate disputes; this is because it is inexpensive, quick, preserves relationships, provides solutions and is easily enforceable. He further mentioned how far it has come since its introduction 2005 and despite of various challenges, today there are a considerable number of mediation centres across Indian courts and more than two thousand mediators handling lakhs of cases.
Dr. Aman Hingorani, Advocate, Arbitrator and Mediator highlighted the points that need to be considered and are of more relevance to the commercial community such as pre-litigation mediation which is a very progressive step, online mediation as a majority of commercial dealings are taking place online nowadays that raise concerns for confidentiality and other factors. He further mentioned that this particular bull maintains the difference between the mediations taken place under the legal bodies and private mediation further interpreting and applying the respective laws.
Chief Guest Mr. Sushil Kumar Modi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha mentioned that mediation bill is perceived as a powerful and effective dispute resolution methodology. Alternatively, the Lok Adalats of India are also an effective tool for dispute resolution. He further added that advent the establishment of Court Annexed Mediation has gradually led to the path for Private Mediation Institutions pan India such as the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation as well as the Centre for Advanced Mediation and Practice. The need for a stand-alone law on mediation has been advocated by many experts in recent times in order to provide sanctity to the process of mediation.
Guest of Honour Mr. Sujeet Kumar, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha thanked PHDCCI to have invited him to share his views on the draft bill. In his address he spoke about the huge pendency of cases, lack of judges, status of Enforceability of Contracts in India, low EoDB ranking of India in the World Bank Report and on how Mediation as a tool can play important role to deal with these issues. He also briefly touched upon the importance of empowering Panchayats and the benefits of Online Mediation. He also invited suggestions from various stakeholders through PHDCCI and ensured his full support to get them incorporated in the draft bill in Rajya Sabha.
The session and the Q & A were moderated by Ms. Lalit Mohini Bhat, Co-Chair, Law & Justice Committee, PHDCCI and Mr. Kirit S Javali, Co-Chair, Law & justice Committee, PHDCCI.
Dr. Jatinder Singh, Assistant Secretary General, PHDCCI gave the formal Vote-of Thanks.
The webinar was supported by PHDCCI Annual Sponsors such as, Multani Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Star Wire ;P G Industry; Uflex Ltd; DLF Ltd; Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd; Belair Travel & Cargo Pvt Ltd; Radico Khaitan Ltd; Crystal Crop Protection Ltd; Paramount Communications; Superior Industries Ltd; JK Tyre & Industries Ltd; Comtech Interio; R E Rogers; AYUSH Herbs Private Ltd; Apeejay Stya Group; DCM Shriram; EaseMyTrip; Blossom Kochhar Beauty Products Pvt Ltd; MV Cotspin Ltd; Synergy Environics Ltd; Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd; P S BEDI & Co.; Indian Farmer & Fertilizers Corporation Ltd; Jindal Steel; Hindware Sanitary; Modern Automobiles; Livit Ltd. Jaipuria Institute of Management was the principal partner.
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Media Division
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry