President of India Droupadi Murmu gives the nod to Mediation Act

President of India Droupadi Murmu gives the nod to Mediation Act

It requires individuals to try and resolve civil or commercial disputes through negotiation before resorting to any court or tribunal

The Mediation Act, 2023 has received the assent of the President of India Droupadi Murmu, and was notified in the Gazette of India.

On 20 December 2021, the Mediation Bill was introduced before being referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice headed by Sushil Kumar Modi.

The committee submitted its report to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson on 13 July 2022. Thereafter, it was passed by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on August 1 and August 7, respectively.

The Mediation Act requires individuals to try and resolve civil or commercial disputes through mediation before resorting to any court or tribunal. After two sessions, a party would be allowed to withdraw from the process. The procedure must be completed within 180 days with the possibility of an extension for another 180 days if the parties agree.

To oversee the progression, the Mediation Council of India is to be established. Its responsibilities would include registering mediators and recognizing mediation service providers and mediation institutes, involved in training and certifying mediators.

However, certain disputes are deemed inappropriate for mediation. These include those involving criminal prosecution or impacting the rights of third parties. If needed, the Central government will have the authority to amend the list.

In cases where the parties agree, they can appoint any individual as a mediator. If an agreement cannot be reached with the mediator, they can seek the assistance of a mediation service provider, which will appoint a mediator from its panel of qualified mediators.

The agreements resulting from successful mediation will be legally binding and enforceable in the same manner as court judgments.

Meanwhile, the Act has received criticism for making participation in pre-litigation mediation mandatory, which goes against the mediation’s traditional voluntary nature. Another major concern is that the Mediation Council, tasked with the regulating mediators’ profession, lacks adequate representation of experienced practitioners, unlike other professional regulators like the Bar Council of India (BCI).

In addition, the Council requires prior approval from the Central government for its regulations, raising questions about the government’s potential involvement as a party to mediation.

Another factor is that the Act does not provide for the enforcement of settlement agreements from international mediations conducted outside India.