On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, the upper chamber of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha) passed the new national mediation bill that had been pending for about two years. It marks the end of many, many years in the making of backroom discussions and negotiations, including the work of the Expert Committee on Mediation, Supreme Court of India, to which I had the privilege of serving as an Advisor. The bill is awaiting signature by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, at which point it will be known as the Mediation Act, 2023.
Although India has had an elaborate system of court annexed mediation for some 20 years, and mediation provisions drafted into subject specific legislation such as the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, this is the first national mediation law for the entire country. Given that India is the most populous country in the world–a country that is also coming of age with mediation more generally–the new Mediation Act is likely to have widespread impact and promises to offer a laboratory of sorts for studying mediation in the Commonwealth and in common law systems.
The version of the bill as passed appears to contain some last minute changes from the version originally introduced in the lower chamber – changes that I expect many of us will be poring over for weeks and months to come. It will be posted on the CNDR website shortly. More details to follow.
