Liberalisation of our economy has not only promoted privatization, globalisation and flow of direct investment in our country, but has also given rise to commercial disputes involving high stakes. Unfortunately the Indian legal system is being termed dilatory where courts are sometimes accused of taking years to decide cases.

In view of many domestic and foreign companies, such as British telecom major Vodafone,preferring Singapore, Hong Kong and London as arbitration or mediation venues for they feel securing final settlements from Indian courts can take years, there is an urgent need as also a vociferous demand to develop a speedy, cost-effective and efficient disputes resolution mechanism in India.

Many legal luminaries in India and from across the world,have proposed a system of mediation for disputes resolution.

Ms Geetha Ravindra,chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution,feels that the process of mediation can yield results much faster, essentially in the case of commercial disputes, where traditional litigation system fails to deliver as it tends to be cumbersome and time-consuming.

She brings to India a wealth of legal expertise in mediation processes as she participates in the Asia Pacific International Mediation Summit,to be held from 12 to 15 February in the capital.

This Summit will engage a range of experienced dispute resolution practitioners, academics, judges, attorneys, mediation and arbitration professional organizations, and users such as international corporate representatives and government entities, says Ms Ravindra.

"It is a unique meet where a wide variety of topics including building sustainable mediation programmes, best practices in courtconnected and community mediation programmes, commercial mediation, cross-border international mediation, the enforceability of international mediation agreements,and the future of mediation in Asia, will be deliberated upon," she says.

Though Asian representation in the Summit is predominant, Ms Ravindra says,European and American presence won’t be missed.

Mr Victor Schacter, Founder and Director, Foundation for Sustainable Rule of Law Initiatives, United States, along with Sriram Panchu, Vice President, Association of Indian Mediators, will focus mainly on Developing Sustainable Mediation Programmes.

Some sessions like the plenaries on Mediation Models in Asia and Enforceability of Mediation Agreements are for all, while some would be subject specific, she adds.

About 180 delegates from countries including Pakistan,Nepal,Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Canada, Austria, France etc. will come together to show, share experiences and discuss ways and means of reducing legal pendency and expediting justice delivery system through mediation.

The American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution, with its 18,000 members worldwide, promotes and moots mediation as a process of dispute resolution.

Mediation, Ms. Ravindra says, is through dialogue where both parties sit together to resolve the issue. "Unlike arbitration and courts, here there are neither winners nor losers… It is a Win-Win situation for parties as both come out winners at the end as the verdict they reach is a mutually acceptable, integrated solution," explains Ms Ravindra.

Asked if mediation is a "cure for all ills",the ABA chair says no."Like any other means of dispute resolution,mediation too has a few issues and challenges that have to be taken care of if one wants to develop a perfect process. For instance, it usually has 80 per cent success rate." Often,mediators are available at exorbitantly high prices which people are not able to afford, she avers.

Says Ms Ravindra: "Yet another challenge in finding a mediator is that they are not trained in legal processes for dispute Resolution… But ABA has found an answer to that as it not only provides training,but also resources and research needed for the purpose."

Yet, mediation is the most favoured approach in the United Sates as it saves time, money and effort. Besides there is no risk of having an outcome which nobody likes.

Earlier, lawyers were reticent about the mediation process as they would think that there was no role for them. They would be jobless "Our Session on Legal Advocacy would show that their role is as significant in mediation as it is in courts, for negotiating parties always need a lawyer’s assistance and legal advice to tell them about risks and benefits of the mediation agreement," Ms Ravindra says.

This Summit will be a unique opportunity for lawyers, judicial officers and judges in India where they can share in the knowledge and experience of their counterparts from across the globe.

Key speakers at the meet would include Mr Jim Silkenat, Immediate Past President, American Bar Association, United States an Mr Renaud Sorieul,Secretary of UNCITRAL and Director of the International Trade Law Division of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, Austria.

A galaxy of judges including the Honorable Sundaresh Menon,Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore, Justices J S Khehar, T S Thakur,Madan Lokur and A K Sikri of the Supreme Court of India; Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Krishen Kaul,Chief Justices of Allahabad and Madras High Courts and Justice Gita Mittal of the Delhi High Court, will speak at the summit.

Among foreign participants are Victor Schacter,Founder and Director, Foundation for Sustainable Rule of Law Initiatives, United States;academicians Nadja Alexander, Director, Conflict Coaching International, Hong Kong and Professor of Law, The University of Queensland and Joel Lee, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore.

Also speaking would be Sriram Panchu, Vice President, Association of Indian Mediators from India; Rajesh Sharma, Assistant Professor of the City University of Hong Kong; Usman Rashid, Partner, Inayatullah Chambers, Pakistan; George Lim, Deputy Chairman, Singapore International Mediation Centre; Matrika Niraula, Secretary General, Nepal International ADR Center (NIAC); Christopher To, Executive Director, Construction Industry Council, Hong Kong, and Jiang Heping Michael, Judge, Dongguan Second People’s Court, from China.

Mediator groups from Korea,Fiji, Philippines, Taiwan, Republic of Indonesia, as also judges from Singapore, France, Austria, Thailand, Canada would also join.