Eminent jurist N.R. Madhava Menon on Monday said foreign investors insisted upon arbitration in Singapore or Hong Kong but not in India. This was because settlement of cases through mediation has been rendered meaningless in India.
Mr. Menon, who is also the Honourary Professor of International Bar Association continuing legal Education Chair at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, said in India, mediation takes place in the same long drawn manner as adjudication.
Inaugurating a four-day workshop on Consumer Protection at SDM Law College here, Mr. Menon said that Section 89 was added to Civil Procedure Code for mediated, conciliated settlement without expensive long drawn trial. But advocates either do not know mediation or they are not willing to go ahead with it.
Languishing jail
Even Lok Adalats imposed their decision on the parties while “you are not to suggest settlement”. Mediation is a negotiated settlement between parties. Parliament thought at least 50 per cent of all civil disputes will be settled through mediation. But this was not happening a decade after the section was introduced.
Parliament thought most of the offences punishable up to seven years of imprisonment would be settled through pre-bargaining and introduced chapter 21A in Criminal Procedure code. But I don't think even in Mangalore, a single case of pre-bargaining has taken place in 10 years. “What a shame! I am told 2.3 crore criminal cases are pending with all types of under-trials continuing in jail though they do not deserved to be there”, he said.
