National Consultation on Draft Mediation Bill, 2021
On 5th November 2021, the Centre prepared a Draft Bill on Mediation and has asked for comments from stakeholders. In furtherance of the same, the Centre for ADR at National Law University Delhi organized a National Consultation of Draft Mediation Bill, 2021 on 20th November 2021. The Event seeks to critically discuss the Draft Bill and present the comments to the Government as institutional representatives.
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The Recording of the Session can be accessed here - <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFmtHSQFZ1Q>
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Detailed comments were prepared by the Centre for ADR, NLU Delhi in the form of a report which was sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice. It includes the views expressed by the panelist at the Consultation and the same can be accessed here.
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Welcome Address by Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice-Chancellor, National Law University Delhi
11.00 am - 11.05 am
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Inaugural Address by Hon'ble Justice (Retd.) M.L. Mehta
11.05 am - 11.20 am
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Opening Note by Sriram Panchu (Senior Advocate)
11.20 am - 11.35 am
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Consultation on Draft Mediation Bill, 2021
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Panelists:
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Amarjit Singh Chandhiok
Senior Advocate
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Chitra Narayan
Lawyer & Accredited Mediator
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Dr. Aman Hingorani
Advocate-on-Record and Mediator
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Uma Ramanathan
Advocate, Mediator and Mediator Trainer
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Prof. (Dr.) Ruhi Paul (moderator)
Director, CADR and Certified Mediator
11.35 am - 1.25 pm
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Vote of Thanks
1.25 pm - 1.30 pm
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Hon'ble Justice (Retd.) M.L. Mehta
Justice M.L. Mehta, a former Judge of Delhi High Court has also been a judge of District Courts for over three decades and is known as a Pioneer in Mediation. He is the first batch of Judges who got training in Mediation from ISLDS (California) in the year 2005 and started Court annexed Mediation in the District Courts at Delhi. As In-charge and Co-ordinator of Mediation Centre, Delhi District Courts, he established full-fledged court annexed Mediation Centre in 2006.
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Because of his pioneering in settlement of disputes, he was selected for Jams Weinsterin Fellowship (of USA) in Mediation and was awarded the honour of an Outstanding International Commercial Dispute Resolver. Post retirement, Justice Mehta, beside over seeing DDRS Mediation Centres as its Founder Chairman, is actively engaged in Mediation, and arbitration and has contributed in resolving through Mediation and Conciliation over 1200 matters.
Sriram Panchu
Sriram Panchu is a Senior Advocate and an internationally recognised mediator. He is the Founder of Concord Mediation, which offers services in mediation and med-arb. He is the President of Mediators India, the national association of Indian mediators and a Director on the Board of the International Mediation Institute (IMI). He set up India’s first court – annexed mediation center in 2005 in Madras High Court.
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Mr Panchu is a member of the National Legal Services Authority of India, (NALSA) and president of the National Association Mediators India. He is a director of the International Mediation Institute (IMI) and is on the panel of senior mediators of national and international institutions such as Singapore International Mediation Centre. He is often appointed as a mediator by the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts.
Amarjit Singh Chandhiok
A.S. Chandhiok is a distinguished Indian Senior Advocate practising in the Supreme Court and High Courts in India and a former Additional Solicitor General of India. He was president of Delhi High Court Bar Association for a record six terms.
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Mr. Amarjit is the President of Maadhyam, Council for Conflict Resolution, a professional organization aiming excellence in the development of law and conflict resolution. He was the founder member and Member of the Overseeing Committee of SAMADHAN, the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre. Mr. Singh is a qualified mediator, Founder Member and Vice President of Association of Indian Mediators.
Chitra Narayan
Chitra Narayan is currently a lawyer in independent practice, and an accredited mediator in India. Previously, Chitra worked as a dispute resolution and transaction lawyer with leading law firms in India. Chitra has been mediating commercial and non-commercial disputes since 2005.
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Chitra is a certified mediator with the Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre attached to the Madras High Court. She is also a certified mediator with the ADR Group, UK. She is the Founding Trustee, Foundation for Comprehensive Dispute Resolution (FCDR), Chennai, a Senior Fellow, Weinstein International Foundation and the Joint Secretary of Mediators India, a federation of mediators established for mediation research and advocacy.
Dr. Aman Hingorani
Aman M. Hingorani is a lawyer and mediator in the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. Dr. Hingorani has also been appointed as an arbitrator by Delhi High Court and PHDCCI.
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He has been engaged in teaching law and professional skills as adjunct faculty in India and abroad, and has run training programmes for judicial officers, lawyers, law teachers and students. Dr. Hingorani has prepared the ADR preparatory material for the All-India Bar Examination conducted annually by the Bar Council of India; the ADR Manual for FICCI as its National Consultant; and the Mediation Rules for PHDCCI.
Uma Ramanathan
Uma Ramanathan is an Advocate at Madras High Court for over 29 years, a Mediator since 2005, and a Mediator Trainer since 2006. She is the Organising Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre annexed to the Madras High Court. She is the Managing Trustee of Foundation for Comprehensive Dispute Resolution (FCDR).
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She is also a member of the Panel constituted to draft the Mediation Manual brought out by the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee, Supreme Court of India. She has trained advocates as mediators and referral judges in many parts of India in the programmes organised by the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee, Supreme Court of India, the National Judicial Academy and the Judicial Academy Tamil Nadu.