Aug 21, 2017
The ministry of law in India has asked government departments to go for online arbitration to fast track dispute resolution and bring down government litigation which constitutes nearly 46% of about three crore pending court cases. The ministry has identified 12 arbitration agencies working in India and has asked all the ministries and associated departments to avail the facility of online arbitration for out-of-court settlements and quick resolution of disputes.
The 12 identified agencies include an arbitration centre run by the ASSOCHAM, the Bangalore-based BIMACC, a Delhi-based construction industry related arbitration council which is also a joint venture with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, an online consumer mediation centre run by the National Law University, Bengaluru, and the Delhi Dispute Resolution Society, a unit of the Delhi government, among others. “Presently there are more than three crore cases pending in various courts of the country and 46% of these involve government departments or government bodies. Hence, the department of justice is keen to explore options for government departments for settlement of their disputes through alternate methods,” the ministry has said.
To cut litigation, ministries have been advised not to go to court for their disputes and instead opt for arbitration. “This may help courts to concentrate on access to justice to people in a better manner,” the ministry noted. Many of these agencies provide services of retired judges, senior advocates, chartered accountants, retired civil servants for mediation. Providing a list of such agencies on its website, the law ministry has said the departments may select from them according to their choice and can use their services which will “help to a great extent in reducing government litigations”.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
