Grassroots Confidence-Building And Mindset Change Must To Strengthen Mediation - Justice A. Amanullah

Goa, December 27, 2025: Supreme Court Judge Justice A. Amanullah on Saturday said that for mediation to become a widely adopted practice in the country, there must be a change in mindset and confidence must be built among the public at the grassroots level.

Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day National Conference and Symposium organised by the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the BCI Trust at the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER), Goa, Justice Amanullah observed that people often tend to mingle mediation with arbitration, though the two are fundamentally different. A mediator, he said, cannot function with the mindset of an arbitrator.

He further noted that a successful resolution of a dispute through the mediation process gives immense satisfaction to the mediator. He added that people want to resolve disputes through mediation, as no one wishes for litigation or adversarial court processes to be carried forward across generations merely to reach a conclusion.

Justice Amanullah, however, emphasised that there should be no overlapping between mediation and the normal judicial system; the two should function in parallel. Confidence must be built at the grassroots level that mediation serves not only the interests of the parties involved but also the national interest.

He lauded initiatives such as the organisation of mediation seminars at IIULER, noting that over 11 hours of fruitful deliberations took place through panel discussions, policy roundtables, training programmes, and technical sessions. He acknowledged that while there are hurdles, the pursuit of expanding the scope of mediation should not wait for ideal conditions.

Speaking at the valedictory session, another Supreme Court Judge, Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, said that long before courts, statutes, and even the word “mediation” entered the legal vocabulary, India resolved disputes through conversation, conscience, and community. He remarked that this valedictory moment served as an affirmation that justice in India has always been strongest when it seeks reconciliation without declaring a winner or a loser. Mediation, he said, is not a concept being newly adopted, but wisdom being reclaimed.

Presenting the conference report, Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra stated that over the two days, the conference—attended by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, six other Supreme Court judges, several High Court judges, academicians, lawyers, and law students—effectively addressed the core aspects of mediation and conveyed a clear national message on its growing significance in the present-day context.