Gulam Rabbani :
The Supreme Court administration has issued guidelines for compliance with the provisions regarding mediation of the different conventional laws.
The guidelines were issued on the direction of the chief justice following the recommendation of the Judicial Reforms Committee of the Supreme Court for compliance with the relevant provisions of mediation, said a notification issued on August 5 this year by Md Ali Akbar, Registrar
General of the Supreme Court. If the dispute is settled through mediation, the court fee will be refunded to the parties, according to the guidelines.
The guideline also said, “After submitting a written statement in a civil suit the court will adjourn the hearing and compulsorily take the initiative for mediation and fix a date for the mediation hearing.”
“The court will give written instructions so that the plaintiff, defendant or their legal representatives or their lawyers will be present in person on that date. The court will explain the features and benefits of mediation to the parties or their legal representatives when the plaintiff, the defendant or their legal representatives or their lawyers appear in person on the scheduled date of hearing,” also read the guidelines.
The guidelines said, “There is no obligation to settle a case through mediation process if once it has started. And after the commencement of the mediation discussion, if it is seen that the position of the parties in the dispute is so inflexible that no mediation is possible, or the settlement of the dispute through mediation does not create a favorable position for both parties, then from that stage it is possible to start trial activities again under the existing law.”
“But once mediation talks begin, in many cases the parties will be more interested in resolving disputes through mediators than in the traditional case management process. In this circumstance, the parties should sit at least once in the negotiation to be engaged for mediation.”
“The parties can choose their mediators for their own in mediation process. So in this process the parties have opportunity to maintain their control over the whole matter.”
“If the parties want to settle the dispute through mediation by the court or the District Legal Aid Officer, they do not have to bear any cost. In other cases, the poor and financially insolvent parties may get the mediation cost from the legal aid office if the necessary conditions are met.”
Confidentiality of any discussion between the parties or any documentary evidence presented, at any stage in the mediation process, is kept intact, and if the mediation fails, the mediation discussion is not accepted as evidence in the court.
The mediation procedure is very simple and effective as in the case of mediation the parties or their appointed lawyers themselves decide the place, time and procedure of mediation discussion. This saves the parties’ time, labor and money.
The settlement of the cases is delayed year after year in many cases due to conventional procedural reasons, but disputes can be settled only in a single meeting through mediation. And this method may legally require a maximum of 90 days. The court may issue a decree or order to that effect within 7 days after the parties agree to engage in a mediation process.
If the dispute is settled through mediation, the court fee will be refunded to the parties which will give financial benefit to the parties.
Since the parties decide independently in resolving disputes through mediation, then the question of victory or defeat does not arise. The parties shall accept the decision in this way as there is a win-win situation.
