Litigation tedious, costly, time-consuming, so people should go for mediation: Chief Justice Ramana

New Delhi [India], August 20 : Chief Justice of India (CJI) Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana on Friday said that as litigation is tedious, costly and time-consuming, people should go for mediation and this will strengthen the judiciary.
"Litigation is tedious, costly and time-consuming, so people should go for mediation. This will, in turn, strengthen our judiciary," said CJI Ramana, while attending an event at International Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Hyderabad.
On this occasion, the CJI Ramana signed the Trust Deed of the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre that is proposed to be set up at Hyderabad, in the presence of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice R Subhash Reddy in Hyderabad today.
The CJI Ramana said that the Arbitration Centre, which will be made in Hyderabad, will consist of senior eminent experts from the judiciary and others and they will help the parties in settling arbitration matters in an effective manner.
While speaking on the occasion, he said that the father of Economic Reforms of India is our former late Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao.
CJI Ramana said that he remembered PV Narasimha Rao telling the then Law Secretary that foreign investors said they were ready to invest in India but they were afraid of pendency of litigation. "Thereafter, Rao had taken initiative to pass Arbitration and Reconciliation Act 1996," he said.
CJI Ramana also said that the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre proposed to be set up at Hyderabad will also include and solve Domestic and International Arbitration and cases between local investors.
"There will be an efficient effort of resolving the disputes amicably in this proposed International Arbitration and Mediation Centre to be set up at Hyderabad," the CJI Ramana said.
The other Supreme Court judge, Justice L Nageswara Rao, also speaking on the occasion, said that there are 5 big Arbitration centres of repute in the world and they are London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. The International Arbitration and Mediation Centre proposed to be set up at Hyderabad will be helpful for settling cases through mediation and or arbitration.
"The advantage is that the arbitrators will be appointed by a panel from the Centre. The expert panel will be not only from the field of the judiciary, but also from various other fields, as well. The timeline and fee (for solving the cases by arbitrators) will be decided by the Centre,"Justice Rao said.
He also said that this Arbitration Centre proposed to be set up at Hyderabad will be one of the best centres, and will helpful not only for the people of Telangana, but also for the entire country.
The CJI Ramana said that the investors look for ease of doing business as well as peaceful and quick resolutions of litigations. This International Arbitration and Mediation Center is a step towards providing efficient and fast resolutions in India.
He added, "I encourage this Arbitration and Mediation centre and I request the representatives of industries to encourage the same, as it will help solve the disputes without having to spend years of time in courts."
The CJI Ramana further mentioned that the Chief Minister of Telangana KCR has promised to give the land required for the centre and thanked the Government of Telangana for their cooperation.
The event was also attended by Chief Justice of Telangana, Justice Hima Kohli, Minster of Telangana for Industries and Commerce KTR, Supreme Court Judge Justice Subash Reddy and Nageswar Rao and Minster of Telangana for Law, Indrakaran Reddy and many others.