Jay Shree Ram! I welcome you law professionals, law students and aspirants to my blog on "Introduction to Alternate Dispute Resolution" (ADR). The objective of this blog is to discuss about meaning and scope of ADR and History of ADR in Bharat and across the world. Also Benefits of the ADR mechanism are discussed at last.
Meaning and Scope:
History of ADR in Bharat:
Vedik age in Bharat
The Vedic age in India, witnessed the flourishing of specialised tribunals such as Kula (for disputes of family, community, tribe, castes, races), Shreni (for internal disputes in business, corporation of artisans) and Puga (for association of traders/commerce branches). In these institutions, interest-based negotiations dominated with a neutral third party seeking to identify the underlying needs and concerns of the parties in dispute. [1]
Buddhist Era
Muslim Era
British Era
The history of ADR in India pre-dates the modern adversarial model of Indian judiciary. The modern Indian judiciary was introduced with the advent of the British colonial era, as the English courts and the English legal system influenced the practice of Indian courts, advocates and judges. Courts in India were established to have in place a uniform legal system on the lines of the English Courts. However, even before the advent of such formalistic models of courts and judiciary, Indian legal system was characterised by several native ADR techniques. [1]
Post independence
People’s courts or Panchayat continued to be at the centre of dispute resolution in villages. [1]
In the modern era, several new and sophisticated forms of ADR techniques have developed. [1] They can be stated as arbitration, conciliation, negotiation, mediation etc.
History of ADR outside Bharat:
The ancient position of ADR outside India was akin to the submission of disputes to the decision of private persons - recognised under the Roman Law by the name of Compromysm (compromise). Arbitration was a mode of settling controversies much favoured in the civil law of the continent. The Greeks attached particular importance to arbitration. The attitude of English law towards arbitration fluctuated from stiff opposition to moderate welcome. The Common Law Courts looked jealously at agreements to submit disputes to extra-judicial determination. [1]
Benefits of ADR:
The ADR methods are speedier, informal and cheaper modes of dispensing justice when compared to the conventional judicial procedure. ADR provides a more convenient forum to the parties who can choose the time, place and procedure, for conducting the preferred dispute redressal process. Furthermore, if the dispute is technical in nature, parties have an opportunity to select the expert who possesses the relevant legal and technical expertise. It is interesting to note that ADR provides the flexibility to even refer disputes to non-lawyers. For example, several disputes of technical character e.g. disputes pertaining to the regulation of the construction industry are usually referred to engineers rather than lawyers. [1]
ADR is also encouraged amongst the disputants to reduce delays and high pendency of court cases. The rise of ADR is further supported, as the law courts are confronted with following problems, such as:
1. The lack of number of courts and judges which creates an inadequacy within the justice delivery system; [1]
2. The increasing litigation in India due to increasing population, complexity of laws and obsolete continuation of some pre-existing legal statutes; [1]
3. The increasing cost of litigation in prosecuting or defending a case, increasing court fees, lawyer’s fees and incidental expenses; [1]
4. Delay in disposal of cases resulting in huge pendency in all the courts. [1]
In the light of the apparent need and benefits provided by ADR, it has emerged as a successful alternative to court trials. Further, the rise of the ADR movement in India indicates that it is contributing tremendously towards reviving the litigant’s faith in justice delivery mechanisms. [1]
Reference:
1) CBSE Class XII Legal Studies
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