Mediation Of Pending Court Cases Can Serve As 'Blue Ocean' For Opportunity For Start-Ups: Justice Hima Kohli

Speaking at the occasion of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the New Law School Building of ‘Hamadard Institute of Legal Studies and Research, School of Law’ School of Law and the inauguration of CONCORDIA: National ADR Fest, 2023, Supreme Court Judge Justice Hima Kohli said on Friday, that mediation in respect of pending court cases could serve as a ‘Blue Ocean’ opportunity for start-ups to exploit.She explained the concept of 'Blue Ocean' as a strategy that revolves around the creation of new, untapped markets where competition is minimal or non-existent. And in the context of mediation, Justice Kohli explained that this strategy could be applied to the use of Artificial Intelligence by Start-ups to offer innovative digital mediation services. "Start-ups that enter this untapped market with innovative digital mediation services, can potentially gain a competitive advantage over traditional mediation services. They can use these services to attract new customers and expand their business in a relatively unexplored market. Some Banks and Financial Institutions are already going that way," Justice Kohli pointed out. However, she cautioned that the digital divide could also create a disadvantage for litigants who could not afford the technology or the services offered by such start-ups, and in order to ensure that their services are accessible to all, start-ups could offer pro bono services to those who cannot afford the expenses or to partner with the community organizations and provide mediation services to the under-privileged population."...the ‘Blue Ocean’ potential for Start-ups in the mediation space, will be a significant development and entities that can leverage technology and offer innovative services, have the potential to spin the traditional Mediation driven market into another dimension by creating new opportunities for growth," the judge added. The Supreme Court Judge was addressing the different modes of conflict resolution in the country. She noted that although the justice delivery system has traditionally been adversarial in nature, the increasing number of litigations, complexities of the disputes, the delay in adjudication, a skewed judge-population ratio, large number of vacancies, high inflow of cases, increased citizen awareness of their rights, and the enactment of new laws, all contributed towards a docket explosion that necessitated alternate modes for dispute resolution. The judge said that the term 'alternate' is used as a prefix to the phrase 'dispute resolution' in ADR since litigation shall always continue to be the primary mode of dispute resolution, while Lok Adalats, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiation and hybrid modes like MED-ARB, and ARB-MED-ARB, are the alternate options. "While formal adjudicatory systems will always exist, there are some matters involving complex legal issues that can only be resolved through court adjudication. But many other disputes can be resolved through ADR without overburdening the court system. That is why, in the last decade, there has been a paradigm shift in the approach. Young lawyers, General counsels, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and companies have been moving away from protracted court litigation towards ADR as a primary mode of dispute resolution, knowing that it can be a quicker and more economical mode of dispute resolution for their clients," she stated, while adding that the Indian justice delivery would also require a transformation with additional mechanisms incorporated to strengthen the current court system.Justice Kohli noted that in addition to dispute resolution, ADR now includes client counselling, conflict avoidance, conflict management, and conflict resolution, thereby addressing the issue of 'Access to Justice,' by providing meaningful justice to those who are financially strained or unable to access the courts due to other barriers like geographical constraints. "This broader concept of 'Access to Justice' without confining it to 'Access to Courts' provides a meaningful 'Access to Justice', and it is not limited to legal aid for the underprivileged or those who are unable to afford engaging a lawyer by paying hefty litigation fees and court fees. To put it another way, 'Access to Justice' does not imply access to the judicial system. Rather, it means access to a platform that can aid in dispute resolution, with the goal of providing an effective mechanism for alternative dispute resolution," the judge added. The Supreme Court judge noted that it was the enactment of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in 1996 which had ushered in a new era in the country, with the objective that with the opening of the global economy, India would become an attractive hub for foreign investments, and disputes arising from international commercial relationships would be settled in a fair, efficient an expeditious manner.However, she added that there has been excessive and undue interference by the...

Mediation Of Pending Court Cases Can Serve As 'Blue Ocean' For Opportunity For Start-Ups: Justice Hima Kohli

Navya Benny

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