We are in the midst of, what is known as the mediation movement, and it is now that it is crucial to sieve the right information on the subject to make any substantive progress. While we await the Mediation Bill to turn into an Act, there are mediation training programs taking place, mediation centers opening and accrediting more and more young mediators, and books being published about mediation to prepare us Indians to greet this sleeping giant of Alternative Dispute Resolution when it awakens and takes its due place in the dispute resolution landscape in India.
It is in the context of this development that I recommend you read this book 'Conciliation and Mediation in India,' edited by Gracious Timothy Dunna and published by Kluwer Law International. This edition of the book (and I hope more will come) consists of seventeen chapters that range from explaining the basics of Mediation and why it is necessary to discuss it to surgically analyzing thr provisions of the Singapore Mediation Convention. The book, in its core (and the middle chapters), discusses the various types of cases where Mediation can be used. It is this part that will enrich you not just with the knowledge of provisions of mediation but also the various statutory provisions that regulate mediation in these sectors, the multiple drawbacks of such provisions, and the author's views and recommendations to correct them.
The erudite line of authors brought together by the editor, referred to as contributors, are stalwarts in their fields. Having read their profiles at the beginning of the book, you expect a lot from it, and it indeed delivers. The authors speak on topics where they give you a practical insight into the good, the bad, and the ugly of mediation in that field of disputes.
Anant Merathia, for instance, the author of the chapter 'Mediating Company, Insolvency, and Bankruptcy Disputes,' describes various cases where mediation proved to be a solution and at what stage of the insolvency proceedings it works the best. Badrinath Srinivasan and Arjun Natarajan, the authors of the chapter on 'Mediating Government Disputes,' demonstrate how they know the subject theoretically and practically through various illustrations from their fieldwork.
Similarly, Shraddha Bhosale and Sahil Kanuga discuss the issue of commercial dispute resolution in a wholesome manner, providing a lawyer's perspective empathizing with the commercial party's pain for longing for quick and cheap resolutions.
The chapter on investor-State mediation remains an exercise in theory but provides statistical insight into the rate of settlement by India in investor-State claims. The analysis of e-mediation also remains exhaustive in the book. Ishana Tripathi summarizes all the relevant statutes and regulations to bring forth the smooth transition into the world of e-mediation and distinguishes successfully from online dispute resolution. Another chapter with exemplary articulation is the research-oriented chapter on 'Community Mediation' by Ajay Kumar and Kudrat Dev where intrinsic issues in this field have been discussed and explored.
Having explored and mulled over this book for some time now, I would think there is much scope for a new edition to cover in the coming years. Perhaps next time, it will be great to see a discourse on ethics for mediation advocates, as well as mediation in medical negligence matters - I find this highly relevant in a post-pandemic world.
The book prepares you for the third segment, where it reaches its crescendo while providing a commentary on Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and the Singapore Mediation Convention.
The book's last two chapters are titled - Ready, Set, Mediate: for the Mediator and for the Advocate, respectively. They provide great insight for practical preparation for mediators and lawyers and, in a way, give the readers some practice notes (after a whole lot of theory and procedure from the previous chapters).
It is apt to end with a quote from Joseph Grynbaum, who euphemized, "An ounce of mediation is worth a pound of arbitration and a ton of litigation." It is time for us in India to shed the extra dispute resolution weight, and this book provides excellent insight and a road map for this goal. I am looking forward to the next edition with more about India's Mediation Bill/ Act (fingers crossed!).
For more information about the book, please visit: https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/conciliation-and-mediation-in-india-principles-and-procedure/01t4R00000NqMYgQAN
