PANJIM: With disputes affecting parties, including businesses, across the global community, alternate dispute resolution (ADR) has emerged as the powerful tool to address these challenges, stated Justice Hima Kohli, Judge, Supreme Court of India.
Justice Kohli was speaking as the chief guest at the conference on Ease To Justice Through Arbitration and Mediation in Commercial Disputes organised by the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) at Vagator on Saturday.
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Also present were Justice Mahesh S Sonak, Judge, High Court of Bombay at Goa, Arun Chawla, Director General, ICA, senior Adv J E Coelho Pereira, President, Bar Association of Bombay High Court at Goa and former Advocate General of Goa and N G Khaitan, President, ICA and Senior Partner, Khaitan & Co.
Justice Kohli said that ADR is known for its flexibility, adaptability and efficiency, making it valuable to navigate the complexities of global business.
“In today’s world, thanks to globalisation, everything is moving at a fast pace. This has led to increased commercial transactions with businesses spanning across cultural and geographical boundaries. This has thrown up a variety of legal challenges. International trade and investments have grown phenomenally, making dispute resolutions more complex. Disputes can affect not only the parties involved but the entire global community. To address these challenges, ADR has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses and is known for its flexibility, adaptability and efficiency making it valuable to navigate the complexities of global business,” she stated.
Stating that the concept of arbitration harks back to the panchayat system or the village council where disputes were amicably resolved through collective deliberation, this tradition is steeped in the ethos of community participation and consensus building that reflects our country’s commitment to inclusivity and harmony.
In his address, Justice Sonak stressed on the importance of developing an ADR culture in the country. Many countries, especially South East Asian countries like Singapore, have invested in ADR through conciliation, arbitration and mediation.
“We must develop an ADR culture in India which is best developed through dissemination. We must disincentivise resort to frivolous litigation aimed only at exploiting our unfortunately tardy legal process. The contracting parties are often fully aware of their breaches and weaknesses but would resist enforcement simply because it is commercially profitable to do so. The vagaries of litigation encourage unethical practices and also incentivise taking of chances. This culture and attitude have to change,” Justice Sonak said.
