Mediation Not A Threat To Lawyers' Profession : President Ram Nath Kovind

While speaking at the inaugural event of the two-day national conference on "Mediation and Information Technology" in Gujarat, the President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday spoke about the misconception amongst lawyers that mediation could be a threat to their profession.

The President said that, if there was any misconception amongst lawyers that mediation could be a threat to their profession, last couple of decades must have convinced them that its not. If anything, it is an additional feature in their skills and expertise.

The President, who himself was a lawyer once, further opined that successful mediation provides not just recognition to the lawyer but also gives great job satisfaction.

He added that lawyers can also take inspiration from Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi who preferred the way of mediation above all.

Stressing on the benefits of mediation, President Kovind stated that Mediation attempts to settle disputes not by command or authority, rather it encourages parties to arrive at settlement by systematic mediation sittings by mediator.

"Truly speaking, in mediation everyone is a winner." He said

Talking about why the concept is yet to find wide acceptance across the country, President Kovind pointed out that enough trained mediators are not available in some places and infrastructural facilities at many mediation centres badly need upgradation.

According to him, the solution to the problem would be to resolve these existing bottlenecks at the earliest to ensure more people benefit from mediation.

He added that stakeholders should display a positive attitude towards mediation, and training plays a very important role in this regard and makes a lot of difference.

President Kovind also spoke about his earlier career and his association with the legal profession as he used to practice at the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.

He said that during those years one issue that occupied his mind was access to justice.

"The word justice encompasses a lot and has rightly been stressed in our preamble. But do all people have equal access to justice? I wondered how access to justice could be improved for all. I wondered how access to justice can be improved for all. Both ADR(Alternate Dispute Resolution) and ICT(Internet and Communication Technology) in judiciary are important for many reasons, they're important as they'll help make system more efficient", the President said.

"During last two decades, it has been recognised as an effective tool of dispute resolution by all stakeholders. As several legal luminaries have observed that most cases pending are such that don't need adjudication and the parties in such cases can redress disputed amicably through structured intervention of professional mediators." President Kovind said.

The President also spoke about how Information and communication technology was a saving grace during the Covid pandemic and how the crisis proved to be an opportunity for digital revolution.

Dispensation of justice too was made possible through technology, he said

He opined that amongst many objectives of switch to the information and communication technology, the important one is the access to justice.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Aravind Kumar, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel also spoke at the event. Supreme Court judges Justices L Nageswara Rao, Abdul Nazeer, MR Shah, Vikram Nath and Bela Trivedi were also present at the function.