Justice Surya Kant flags mediator shortage
Bhubaneswar, Sep 28 (UNI) The structured mediation is the need of the hour as 2.5 lakh mediators are required in the country, whereas currently there are only 13,000 available, Justice Surya Kant, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chairman, National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) said today.
Addressing the 2nd National Mediation Conference today, Justice Surya Kant outlined the crucial role of mediation in strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms in India.
He further emphasised the need for greater public trust, policy support, and professional recognition for mediators.
The interactive session with a focus on the theme ‘Mediation: Challenges and Way Forward’ was chaired by Justice Surya Kant and co-chaired by Justice Vipul M. Pancholi, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Justice M.M. Shrivastava, Chief Justice, Madras High Court.
The session deliberated on focus areas like mediation as a profession, accreditation, career opportunities, and creating a sustainable ecosystem, making mediation the first step in resolving all public disputes, building Public trust in mediation, awareness, and outreach schemes, and sharing of success stories and mediation and access to Justice to ensure that mediation reaches rural and marginalised communities.
Other distinguished Judges who participated in the session included Justice M. Sundar, Chief Justice, High Court of Manipur, Justice R. Suresh Kumar, Judge, High Court of Madras, Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque, Judge, High Court of Kerala, Justice Sachin Datta, Judge, High Court of Delhi, Justice Harinath Nunepally, Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Nandini Gore, senior advocate.
