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MEDIATING INDIA
INDIAN MEDIATION WEEK
WITH SUPPORT FROM MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND
SUPREME COURT MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION PROJECT COMMITTEE (MCPC)
REPORT
11 – 17 SEPTEMBER, 2017
Executive Summary
1) West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS) in collaboration with ODRWays organized the first ever Indian Mediation Week (IMW), a pan-India mediation awareness event, from 11-17 September 2017. The event was supported by Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India and Supreme Court Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC).
2) IMW appointed student ambassadors in various law schools across the country. Their primary responsibility entailed conducting awareness drives in their respective cities, as a run-up to the Mediation Week, and promote mediation. In two months, 126 mediation awareness drives were conducted with 200 volunteers working in 10 cities across India and sensitizing over ten thousand people by encouraging them to adopt mediation as a method of dispute resolution.
3) Creative ways were used to promote the message of mediation amongst the general public such as a dance flashmob, live musical performances and street plays.
4) Mediation awareness seminars were conducted for the Rotary and Inner wheel clubs as well as the traders' organizations.
5) A range of mediation training programmes were conducted for students ranging from CAMP mediation advocacy programmes for law students to PACT mediation boot camps to IMO voting clinics to conflict resolution programmes in schools for teenagers.
6) There was a strong social media campaign being run for mediation on the theme of "Suljhao Magar Pyaar Se" (translation: Resolve, amicably) on Facebook which saw support from the former Law Minister Mr. Salman Khurshid, the Hon'ble Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur as well as K.N Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal and Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. The campaign received international recognition from luminaries including Mr. Daniel Erdmann, Founder of World Mediation Organization, Thomas Valenti from Valenti Law, Rahim Shamji from ADR-ODR
London to Young Mediators Initiative of International Mediation Institute (IMI) along with Mediators in South Korea, Australia, USA etc. The final social media reach was 1,04,000.
7) The closing ceremony saw the presence of eminent dignitaries such as Hon'ble Justice Somadder, Hon'ble Justice Sen, Hon'ble Justice Chatterjee, Solicitor General, Judicial Secretary, senior mediators from Bombay, as well as senior advocates from the Calcutta High Court. There was an open forum to discuss various issues of critical importance in the field of mediation: need for quality mediation training, infrastructure support, need for mandatory mediation training programme in law schools, setting up a private mediation centre in Kolkata, role of advocates in increasing the usage of mediation etc. The top 3 students ambassadors, Sharanya Singh Mishra, Aman Dandotiya and Amra Qzai, were felicitated in the closing ceremony. They were chosen on the number of people sensitized and number of cases received.
8) As a follow up event, IMW has collaborated with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) under Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, for nominating an independent jury to recognize the contributions of top ten individuals in the field of mediation in India. The mediators' award ceremony will be held in Delhi in March, 2018.
9) Team IMW is highly grateful for the mentorship support provided by Hon'ble Justice Madan Lokur, Supreme Court of India, Hon'ble Justice B.N. Somadder, Calcutta High Court and Hon'ble Justice Protik Prokash Banerjee, Calcutta High Court. We also thank Mr Jishnu Saha, Senior Advocate, Calcutta High Court and Sinha&Co Advocates, a premier law firm in Kolkata, for their generous sponsorships which helped in executing all these awareness events.
Letter of Appreciation
Hon'ble Justice Madan Lokur, Member, Supreme Court Mediation and Conciliation Project
Committee (MCPC)
Letter of Appreciation
Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India
Letter of Appreciation
Governor of West Bengal
Letter of Appreciation
Governor of West Bengal
Mission
(Take the message of mediation across India)
Mediation is not new to India, it dates back to Lord
Krishna mediating the dispute between Kauravas
and Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Followed by
Panchayats providing communnity mediation as
well as family elders resolving domestic issues.
Mediation has been an integral part of Indian
culture. In fact, traditionally going to courts was
considered against one’s reputation and Indians
followed a zero litigation policy. Disputes were
resolved by people through mutual settlements.
This trend saw a decline due to the introduction of
the Anglo-Saxon system of courts. Consequently,
modern day India became more adversarial and
less collaborative. The backlog of 3.2 crore cases is
not just a statistic we can cry about and blame the
Indian justice system for, it is reflective of deeper
issues such as the unfortunate adversarial mindset
we have developed where justice is all about
winning and losing the legal battle. The
requirement for change is imminent and mediation
is not a new method we need to embrace. Access
to justice is the destination and the route simply
involves us going back to our earlier ways. Across
the world Mediation has proved to be a successful
and cost-effective alternative to the Courtroom
model. It saves time, money and relationships.
Mediators do not make decisions or judgments,
instead they expertly guide parties in reaching
mutual understanding and a common agreement.
Unfortunately, the biggest challenge mediation
faces in India is that people are unaware of it as a
dispute resolution process or they misunderstand
the manner in which mediation works. According
to an access to justice survey done by DAKSH, 54
percent of the Indian population is not aware of
the existence of mediation services
Although we have a backlog of more than 3.2 crore
court cases, the number of mediations done across
the ADR centers of the country is still in thousands.
While the supply of mediators is not a problem, the
demand for their services remain abysmally low.
There exists an urgent need to promote mediation
as an appropriate method of dispute resolution in
our country. In this context it is important to note
that countries across the world have used
mediation weeks as a popular way of spreading
awareness.
The sole objective of Indian Mediation Week was
to grow awareness, knowledge and use of
mediation across different parts of India. It aimed
bringing together all the major stakeholders of the
mediation community on a common platform while
highlighting the benefits of this process to the
general public. It was not just a 7 day event, but
the beginning of a journey of taking India back to
its original method of dispute resolution: Suljhao,
Magar Pyar Se.
Indian Mediation Week
ODRways in collaboration with West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS) organized the first ever Indian Mediation Week (IMW), a pan-India mediation awareness event, from 11-17 September 2017. The event was officially supported by Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and Supreme Court Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC). Hon'ble Justice Madan Lokur, Supreme Court MCPC extended his support in capacity of chief mentor of the event. This is in continuation of the
WBNUJS
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, established in 2000, is one of three prestigious Tier 1 law universities of India. The NUJS Legal Aid Society and the NUJS ADR Society proactively organized Lok Adalats, Mediation Camps, Mediation Training Programmes every year. The Indian Mediation Week was in furtherance of recommendation made by ODRways, under Department of Justice Project on ADR and Legal Aid, under Prof. Sandeepa Bhat to improve the state of ADR in West Bengal.
ODRways
ODRways, the first of its kind online mediators platform co-founded by Pranjal Sinha and Vikram Kumar, aims to make mediation a primary method of dispute resolution in India. With mediators in 21 cities across India, the platform intends to make mediation services easily accessible to the common man of India. One can file a dispute on their online platform and get connected to a mediator within 24 hours. In less than 4 months of launching the platform, the platform has received 100+ cases. These disputes range from family disputes to property as well as commercial matters, One can use the online mediation platform to resolve your disputes without stepping outside the house.
From being recognized as the ‘Socially Most Innovative platform in 2015’ by Google to being listed in the ‘Top 10 Social Ideas of 2016’ in Tata Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, the initiative has also been supported by judges, lawyers and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) organizations such as Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), Center of Advanced Mediation Practice (CAMP) and Delhi Dispute Resolution Society (DDRS) among others. It was also recognized as a "Sustainable online mediation model for developing countries in Asia to get high stake matters" at Global Mediation Forum, Bangkok in May, 2017, organized by World Mediation Organization (WMO) and Thailand Arbitration Centre.
In August, 2017, ODRways was identified by Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, in the list of 12 Alternative Dispute Resolution agencies across India, which will help government departments in reducing their burden of court cases.
Mediation Awareness Drives (Go to the streets and talk about mediation)
Mediation awareness drives were the most important part of Indian Mediation Week. It had two key aspects to it: a)The Supply Side: We tied up with senior lawyers and mediators who agreed to provide pro-bono mediation and counseling services to people in need of legal help, b) The Demand Side: People have legal issues but they don't know where to go. They often don't file cases because of the amount of time and money these complicated legal processes takes. This is known as the unmet legal market.
The job of the volunteers was simple. Connect the demand side to the supply side. IMW volunteers went in groups to particular areas, distributed mediation pamphlets and sensitized local people about the benefits of mediation. These drives directly promoted access to justice as volunteers noted down people's disputes and legal issues, and connected them to lawyers and mediators who were willing to provide pro-bono services.
Indian Mediation Week appointed student ambassadors in various law schools across the country. Their primary responsibility entailed conducting awareness drives in their respective cities, as a run-up to the Mediation Week, and promote mediation.
In two months, 126 mediation awareness drives were conducted with 200 volunteers working in 10 cities across India and sensitizing over ten thousand people by encouraging them to adopt mediation as a method of dispute resolution.
Mediation Awareness Drives: National
Impact
1) City: Phagwara, Punjab
Student Ambassador: Parul Mahajan, 4th Year, Lovely Professional University
Volunteers: Arshdeep Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur and Rahul Sharma
Impact Areas: Phagwara market, model town, rama mandir, Mota Singh market, Garha Road, Jalandhar bus stand, Hargobind Nagar, Loha Mandi, Railway Road, Phillaur
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
464 12 12
2) City: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Student Ambassador: Kopal Garg, 3rd Year, Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai.
Volunteers: Samiksha Rathod, Chinmay Rajvanshi, Sai Raj Dable, Samiksha Nagrare, Anoushka Mehta, Riya Thakare, Krishnakant Vishwakarma, Ankit Kumar, Muskan Badhoria, Shivam Sonkar
Impact Areas: IIT Market, MG Roa, Khot Lane and JV Road in Ghatkopar West, Powai Polyclinic and Galleria, Powai Plaza, IIT Market, Vikhroli Market, MTNL Hostel and Hiranandani Gardens.
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
169 8 7
3) City: Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Student Ambassador: Amra Qazi, 5th Year, Uttaranchal University Law college Dehradun
Volunteers: Sonal Tiwari, Shruti Kirti Soni, Sayeeda Fatima, Ankana Basu, Shubham Trivedi, Millie Kanaujia , Aliza Zafar, Geetika Sachdeva , Apurva Kumari, Ekanshi Kansal. Ishfaq Majeeddar, Anushka, Ashima Gupta, Khushboo Jindal, Ashima Jain, Roopangshu Banerjee , Rupak Das, Oshank Sharma, Aishwarya Bisht, Ankit Singh Chauhan, Cherry Gupta, Surbhi Gupta, Apoorv Bandhu, Aishani Pramod, Deepank Bharadwaj and Abhishek Bhardwaj
Impact Areas: Nanda chowki, Kolhupani, Shivpuri, Jhajra range, Chewi premnagar, Near IMS unison university, State women commission ,Vikasnagarsiddhuwala, Slum area of Raipur, Char wing beric 13, Kherigaon, Clock tower dispensary road, Near forest research insitute, children helpline incharge,police station premnagar Dehradun, Outside SSP office Dehradun, Vasant Vihar, Hebertpur, Rishikesh Society.
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
1100 17 20
4) City: Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Student Ambassador: Aman Dandotiya, 4th Year, Institute of Law Jiwaji University, Gwalior
Volunteers: Vikas parashar, Charu bhardwaj, Rashi kushwah, Mayank upadhyay, Sagar kushwah, Sushmita chauhan, Shantanu soni, Nishel tekwani, Ashish gupta, Shubham shakya, Shubham ojha, Saif ali Zaidi, Shivangi tiwari, Bhumika bhargav, Praduman pathak, Yash Pratap Singh Rathore and Abhinav bhargav.
Impact Areas: Alkapuri near new high court, City center, Phoolbagh , Maharaj bada , Old high court, Sadar bazar morena
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
886 10 35
5) City: Chandigarh, Punjab
Student Ambassador: Saurav Khanna, 4th Year, Lovely Professional University
Volunteers: Aashina Gupta, Aastha Dhawan, Aayush Arora, Abhishek Singla, Akhil, Akhil Kamra, Akshat, Akshit Pathania, Ankush, Annu Gahlyan, Anukampa, Anurag Yadav, Arshdeep Singh Virdi, Arvind Singh, Aseesinder Kaur, Aviral Sharma, Bhavi Kapur, Bhavnish Kumar Wadhwa, Bhavya, Chandan Kashyap, Damandeep Kaur, Devanshu, Dheerja, Dhriti Sharma, Diksha Rinwa, Dilip, Dishant, Driyanshu, Ekamjot Kaur, Gaurav Glory, Gauri, Gurmehar, Gurneet, Hanu Mittal, Haridiyanshu, Harshil Gupta, Harwinder Kumar, Himani Mittal, Himanshu Goyal, Hurshdeep Singh, Icy Jaswal, Ishita Gaur, Ishita Jain , Ishwar Toor, Jai Ishwar, Jashan Sethi, Jasmine, Jasmine Bawa, Jyotika Bansal, Kartik Goyal, Kartik Jain, Kartik Marwaha, Kavita, Krisha Kansal, Kriti, Kulbir Singh, Kunal Khurana, Kusum Lata, Lavanya, Lokesh Mittal, Lovleen Panday, Manasvi Bhatia, Manik Garg, Manikya Malik, Mansi Dahiya, Mehak Aggarwal, Mehak Mehra, Millie Gautam, Mudit Jain, Muskaan Gupta, Muskan Aggarwal, Nandini Gupta, Nandita, Navdeep, Navleen Kaur, Navroop Jawanda, Navya, Nidhi Sharma, Pankaj Kumar, Paras, Pardeep Thapa, Plash Mittal, Prabhveet Singh, Pragya Tyagi, Priyanka, Puneet Bhullar, Radhika Mittal, Rahul Sangwan, Reeta, Reetika, Ritika Gupta, Ritika Sharma, Rohan Mittal, Rohan Rai, Rohit Rao, Ruhela, Sabir Singh, Sachin Kumar, Samridhie Handa, Sanighdha, Sanchit Singla, Sarika Bataan, Sehaj, Shagun Dogra, Shivam Sharma, Shivam Singla, Shivani Kaushik, Shivika Goyal, Shlok Dalal, Simran Sankhyan, Simranjit Kaur, Sneha Bishnoi, Sobind Kumar, Srishti Gupta, Sumandeep Tewari, Sumedha, Tanish Jindal, Tanveer Singh, Tanya Sehgal, Tejsavi Insan , Tina Benny, Tushal Bagri, Tushar Bansal, Urvash, Vedika Gandhi, Vidushi Trehan , Vijaylakshmi, Vikrant Singh, Vivek Modi, Vrinda Maria, Yashdeep Shah
Impact Areas: Sector 14 Market, Sector 15 Market, Sector 17 Market, Sector 19 Market, Sector 22 Market, Sukhna Lake, High Court, Dhanaas and Elante.
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
1681 9 137
6) City: Delhi (NCR)
Student Ambassador: Kirtika Chaudhary, 3rd Year, Faculty of Law, Delhi University.
Volunteers: Dileep Kumar Bhaskar
Impact Areas: Phagwara market, model town, rama mandir, Mota Singh market, Garha Road, Jalandhar bus stand, Hargobind Nagar, Loha Mandi, Railway Road, Phillaur
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
73 3 8
Student Ambassador: Sharanya Singh Mishra
in association with Indian National Bar Association
Volunteers: INBA- Nisha Chauhan, Bhawna Gandhi, Palak Arora, Saurabh Sahu, Krishanika Singh, Kusum Imran, Praveen Kumar, Prakhar Kumar, Prerna Chauhan, Jasmine Chauhan, Aakrit Sharma, Rahul Thapliyal, Sahil Chopra, Ankita Dawra, Srishti Chawla , Aditya Talwar, Dhvanit Chopra, Ashutosh Singh, Venus Anand, Puneet Kumar, Pranam Jain, Arshdeep Kaur, Harmandeep Kaur
Impact Areas- Jagat Farm, Greater Noida, Atta Market, Noida, South Extension Market - 1, South Extension Market - 2, Lajpat Nagar Central Market
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
696 5 23
and in association with Network for International law students (NILS)
Volunteers: Netra Nair, Chhavi Jain, Vidit Mehra, Sonya Mohan, Khyati Mehrotra, Shaad Mirza, Gauri Sharan, Urvashi Agarwal, Shreyansh Khemka
Impact areas: Sector 62, Noida, Connaught Place Inner Circle
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
26 2 6
Total Impact in Delhi and NCR
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
595 10 37
7) City: Assam
Student Ambassador: Anushri Mondal, 4th Year, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam.
Volunteers: Ankit Kumar, Saharsh Dubey, Jyoti Priya, Neha Sharma, Adarsh Awasty, Apoorv Mishra, Neha Meena, Sweta Toppo, Yash Gupta, Utkarsh Srivastava, Ashish Kashyap, Akansha Toppo.
Impact Areas: G.S.Road, Paltan Bazar, Rehabari
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
768 19 33
8) City: Pune, Maharashtra
Student Ambassador: Sharanya Singh Mishra, 3rd Year, Indian Law School, Pune
in association with D.E.S Law College.
Volunteers: Samrat Jhambhulkar, Surabhi Subhash ,Meghna Gaikund, Anjana Kunwar, Sanskriti Panse, Shama Kaurnawat, Neha Tawde, Aishwarya Singh, Priyanka Deuke, Gayatri Kulkarni, Swati Kshirsagar, Nidhi Ranka, Chirag Dave, Kshiti Kshirsagar and Dryder Idhate.
Impact Areas: FC Road from Shirole Road to Bhandarkar Road, covering the by lanes and major commercial part of BMCC Road, GoodluckChowk, its by lanes and Apte Road, Garware Chowk, Deccan Gymkhana, JM Road, Ghole Road and Shirole Road, Pune Angare School and Shukrawar Peth.
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
504 5 12
in association with Network for International law students (NILS)
Volunteers: Netra Nair, Chhavi Jain, Vidit Mehra, Sonya Mohan, Khyati Mehrotra, Shaad Mirza, Gauri Sharan, Urvashi Agarwal, Shreyansh Khemka
Impact Areas: Ghole road and Shirole road, Shivaji Nagar
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
40 1 0
Total Impact in Pune
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
544 6 12
9) City: Gurgaon, Haryana
Student Ambassador: Sharanya Singh Mishra in association with Network for International law students (NILS)
Volunteers: Mohit Vats, Vaibhav Rao, Sanjay Desaiwal, Nitin Yadav, Tashi Vaish, Biswaksen Panda, Nikita Angurala, Brijesh Ladwal
Impact Areas: Sector 23A
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
31 1 4
10) City: Kolkata, West Bengal
Student Ambassador: Pranjal Sinha and Akshetha Ashok, 4th year students, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
Volunteers: Abhay Singh Rathore, Aryan, Manjari, Aastha, Apoorva, Isha, Aparimita, Senu, Vinayak, Shourya, Rashika, Shaishir, Adya, Adit, Yash, Mallika, Pranvi,
Impact Areas: Salt lake sector 3, sector 5, Park steet, Ezra Street, Burra Bazaar, Elgin Road, Alipore, Mallick Bazar, College street, Sealdah, Karunamooyi, Ballygunge.
People Sensitized
No. of mediation awareness drives
Cases/legal issues
2853 37 272
Creative Ways to Spread Awareness
1. Using Dance to Promote Mediation
On 16th September 2017, a group of students from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, performed a flash mob in front of Carnival Cinemas, Sector 3, Salt Lake to promote the cause of mediation in India. While the flashmob attracted a huge crowd, volunteers from team IMW used it as an opportunity to distribute mediation pamphlets. This was in furtherance of our commitment to using creative ways for taking the message of mediation to the common man. Checkout the flashmob here.
2. Using Music to Promote Mediation
Team IMW had an awesome time spreading mediation awareness with live music, on 13th September 2017, in the RBD area in Sector 5, Salt Lake. While a few students played the guitar and sang, the rest of the team distributed mediation fliers to the crowd that was listening in to the performance.
3. Using Theatre to Promote Mediation
A mediation street play was conducted in the Alipore Court Campus on 15th September 2017. The idea behind this was to spread awareness among litigants. The theme of the skit was based on the reasons we need to stop directing our blame against lawyers and judges for the state of justice in India and change our adversarial mindset towards dispute resolution.
4. Mediation Unity Project
Unity Project is a unique way of portraying how all of us, despite being so different, have so much in common. It encourages people to look past their differences and realize that at the end of the day, all of us cherish the same emotions and suffer certain similar drawbacks. There are different identifiers on each of the sticks, depicting character traits and feelings. A thread is tied to the middle and is wound around the stick a person identifies with. At the end, it all becomes a beautiful web of threads, all entwined at different points, thus portraying how we are all united.
Mediation Awareness Seminars
1) Rotary Club and Inner wheel club of Kolkata Mediation Awareness Programme for the Rotary:
On 15th September 2017, Inner Club of Kolkata, Lansdowne collaborated with Indian Mediation Week for a mediation seminar for members of their club and the rotary club in Kolkata. The seminar emphasized the importance of mediation being the first response to a family dispute or a business matter. Tanu Mehta T, a senior mediator from Bombay and founder of Association of Mediation Practitioners was the guest speaker for the occasion.
2) Mediation Awareness Programme for the Calcutta Electric Traders Association (CETA)
Calcutta Electrical Traders Association (CETA) in association with Indian Mediation Week organized a mediation awareness seminar for all their members on Ezra Street on 14th September 2017. CETA is one of the oldest and largest traders association in India. Prathamesh D. Popat, a renowned mediator from Bombay and founder of Association of Mediation Practitioners was the guest speaker for the seminar.
The seminar aimed at sensitizing traders about the importance of mediation in resolving their legal disputes. CETA has agreed to explore mediation and do a 3-month pilot project with ODRways for resolving their commercial matters.
Training Programmes for Students
1. CAMP Mediation Advocacy Training Programme in NUJS
Tara Ollapally and Annapurna Sreehari from Centre for Advanced Mediation Practice (CAMP), Bangalore, conducted a day-long Mediation Advocacy Workshop at NUJS on 11th September 2017. Majority of the participants were exposed to the concept of mediation for the first time. This course helped in, broadening their perception of dispute resolution in India. It covered the basics of mediation, and the role of legal counsel in mediation and the factors to achieve in an effective mediation, among other aspects. The course was augmented with a demo mediation, illustrating the stark difference between mediation and a more adversarial dispute settlement mechanism such as arbitration.
2. Association of Mediation Practitioners, Bombay conducts the first ever NUJS-Intra Mediation Competition
It was an honour for Indian Mediation Week (IMW) to officially partner with Association of Mediation Practitioners (AMP), Bombay for the NUJS Intra-Mediation Competition. We are also highly grateful for the support shown by Tanu Mehta T and Prathamesh D Popat, co-founders of AMP, for being the guest speakers in the mediation awareness seminars of Inner Wheel/rotary club and Calcutta Electrical Traders Association.
3. Conflict Resolution Programme For Teenagers, Bangalore
Army Public School, Bangalore, conducted a conflict resolution programme for teenagers under Indian Mediation Week on 9th August, 2017, under the guidance of renown mediator Meena Waragharay. They conducted a street play to sensitize teenagers about developing conflict resolution skills and, building empathy and active listening skills.
4. Mediation Programme at Madras Law College by IMO
On 21st August 2017, International Mediations
Organizations (IMO) conducted a mediation
awareness seminar for the students at the
prestigious Dr. Ambedkar Government Law
College, formerly known as the Madras Law
College, which is located in the High Court Campus
of Chennai.
5. PACT Mediation Boot Camp in Delhi
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS) Delhi, joined hands with the Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution Team (PACT), in furtherance of Indian Mediation Week, to host a mediation boot camp for 120 students from 40 different law schools in India. The boot camp focused on the skills and strategic techniques of negotiation and mediation, besides an orientation on the legal aspects governing practice of consensual dispute resolution in India. PACT was represented by Jonathan Rodrigues, along with Friends of PACT, Arjun Natrajan and Tanima Tandon. The dean of VIPS Dr Prof Rashmi Salpekar and chief student coordinator Nitika Singhal provided unconditional support and hospitality to the organizing team.
Social Media Campaign #SuljhaoMagarPyaarSe
There was a strong social media campaign being run for mediation on the theme of "Suljhao Magar Pyaar Se" (translation: Resolve, amicably) on Facebook which saw support from the former Law Minister Mr. Salman Khurshid, the Hon'ble Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur as well as K.N Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal and Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. The campaign received international recognition from luminaries including Mr. Daniel Erdmann, Founder of World Mediation Organization, Thomas Valenti from Valenti Law, Rahim Shamji from ADR-ODR London to Young Mediators Initiative of International Mediation Institute (IMI) along with Mediators in South Korea, Australia, USA etc. Mediators from across the world sent videos and pictures to contribute to our social media campaign and show their support for the cause of mediation. Checkout the official Facebook page and YouTube channel of Indian Mediation Week.
The final social media reach was 1,04,000.
Indian Mediation Week: Closing
Ceremony
The closing ceremony saw the presence of eminent dignitaries such as Hon'ble Justice Sommader, Hon'ble Justice Sen and Hon'ble Justice Chatterjee. The Solicitor General, Judicial Secretary, senior mediators from Bombay, as well as senior advocates from the calcutta High Court who graced the occasion with their presence. The ceremony was officially sponsored by Sinha and Co. Advocates, a primary law firm in Kolkata. The journey of Indian Mediation Week and the statistics of mediation awareness was presented by the Chief Coordinator, Pranjal Sinha. The top 3 students ambassadors, Sharanya Singh Mishra, Aman Dandotiya and Amra Qzai, were felicitated in the closing ceremony. They were chosen on the number of direct engagement and number of cases received. There was an open forum to discuss various issues of critical importance in the field of mediation: need for quality mediation training, infrastructure support, need for mandatory mediation training programme in law schools, setting up a private mediation centre in Kolkata, role of advocates in increasing the usage of mediation etc. The event was concluded by the vote of thanks by Akshetha Ashok, the chief coordinator of the event.
Follow-up Event
Award Ceremony for Mediators
As a follow up event to Indian Mediation Week, we
have collaborated with Indian Institute of
Corporate Affairs under Ministry of Corporate
Affairs, Government of India, for nominating an
independent jury to recognize the contributions of
top ten individuals in the field of mediation in
India. The top ten individuals will be felicitated as
part of the Indian Mediation Week project. The
objective of this event is to promote mediation as a
profession in India. The nomination forms are
available here.
We are highly grateful to Anuroop Omkar for his
support and guidance in planning this event. This
event is scheduled to be held in New Delhi in
March, 2018.
Sponsors
1) Sinha & Company Advocates
Sinha and Sinha Co, a renown coporate and litigation firm in Kolkata, was the golden sponsor of the Indian Mediation Week closing ceremony. We are highly grateful for the encouragement and support provided by Mr. Paritosh Sinha for the execution of this event.
2) Jishnu Saha,Senior Advocate, Calcutta High Court
Jishnu Saha, a senior advocate in Calcutta High Court and a member of the executive council of WBNUJS was one of our early supporters. He encouraged us to promote mediation through this nationwide campaign. His donations were responsible for the successful implementation of this programme.
Partners
1) Peacekeeping And Conflict Resolution Team (PACT)
The ‘Peacekeeping And Conflict Resolution Team’
(PACT), co-founded by Jonathan
Rodrigues and Gracious Timothy, has been actively
leading the mediation movement in India. Spread
across India, from Kashmir to Pune, their mediation
boot camps are extremely popular in different
colleges. They are helping students imbibe a strong
mediation and negotiation skill-set, and develop a
strong collaborative mindset towards dispute
resolution. Check out their website for more
details.
2) Teach for India
Teach for India, a pioneer in the field of education in our country, extended support to the cause of access to justice in India. It is a non-profit organisation that is a part of the Teach For All network. The Fellowship recruits college graduates and working professionals to serve as full-time teachers in low-income schools for two years. They conducted mediation awareness drives for the parents of students who are associated with them in Pune. Check out their website for more details.
3) International Mediations Organization
IMO is an earnest endeavor by a group of highly qualified professionals to provide a platform to resolve disputes between parties amicably through Mediation. This organization caters to the requirement of all Industry. The founder members are trained & certified Mediators by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs - Government of India. With a state of art facility at the mediation center, IMO mediators successfully completed 1500 mediations in family & commercial matters under the Madras High Court.
Due to the efforts taken by IMO, International Mediation Institute (IMI), Netherlands, extended the online voting of the Global Pound Series (GPC) to 31st August 2017. They organized a range of activities to promote the cause of mediation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
4) Prerna Foundation
An extremely proactive NGO for organizing legal awareness and youth empowerment programmes, they collaborated with Indian Mediation Week for spreading awareness about mediation within Mumbai. To know more about them, click here.
5) Young Mediators' Initiative
The YMI, under the International Mediation Institute, Netherlands, was established to support young mediators and mediation advocates with finding opportunities to gain experience in the field of Mediation. It is intended as a platform where young mediators and mediation advocates can contact each other, share knowledge, get in touch with organizations and network with competent mediators and mediation advocates to gain experience through shadowing, assistantships, internships, co-mediations and mentoring programs. They were responsible for the social media promotion of Indian Mediation Week.
To know more about them, click here.
6) Indian National Bar Association (INBA)
Indian National Bar Association (INBA) is a largest voluntary Bar Association in New Delhi, India. The Indian National Bar Association is a professional Not-For-Profit lawyers association dedicated to promoting the rule of law and human rights around the world. To fulfill its mission, the association is to provide a forum for meetings and the exchange of ideas among lawyers who are interested in legal, trade and policy matters. They conducted mediation awareness drives in Delhi and Noida to educate people on the benefits of mediation. To know more about them, click here.
7) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
(FICCI) is an association of business organisations in India. The chamber has an indirect membership of over 2,500,000 companies from various regional chambers of commerce. It is involved in sector specific business policy building, and business promotion and networking. It is headquartered in the national capital New Delhi and has presence in 12 states in India and 8 countries across the world. We are highly grateful for the support of Mr Arun Chawla, secretary general of FICCI, for extending his support to the cause of mediation in India. To know more about them, click here.
8) International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR)
The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) is an autonomous organization with its headquarters at New Delhi and Regional Centres at Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It is an initiative by Government of India to provide a new forum and procedure for resolving international and domestic commercial disputes quickly.
Dr. H.R. Bhardwaj (Founder Chairperson), Former Governor of Karnataka is the Patron of ICADR. At the regional level, the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court is the Patron of the Regional Centre of ICADR. Hon’ble Chief Justice of India is
the Chairperson of ICADR. The Governing Council of ICADR comprises of several eminent personalities drawn from various fields. We are highly grateful for the support of Mr B.S Saluja, secretary general of ICADR, for extending his support to the cause of mediation in India To know more about them, click here.
9) Network for International Law Students (NILS)
NILS, India is one of the many chapters of the international community that belongs to NILS. It is an independent, non-political, non-profit organization with an aim to promote, establish and develop mutual understanding, and a cordial relationship between law students and lawyers across the country, thereby equipping them for professional life in an international, dynamic and competitive legal environment. They conducted mediation awareness drives, under the leadership of Netra Nair, in Delhi, Gurgaon and Pune to educate people on the benefits of mediation. To know more about them, click here.
10) Delhi Dispute Resolution Society (DDRS)
Delhi Dispute Resolution Society, DDRS, is one of most successful mediation centers of India. An initiative by Justice M.L Mehta, the centre provides processes Mediation and Conciliation services to not only matters pending before Courts, Consumer Forums and such other bodies but also in respect of pre-litigation cases. The parties before taking legal recourse to Courts, Police, etc. are encouraged to approach the various Mediation Centres which have been set up in different parts of Delhi for settlement of their disputes amicably
and also free of cost. We are highly to grateful to support of Mrs Puja Dewan, director of DDRS, for extending her support to IMW. To know more about them, click here.
11) Calcutta Electric Traders Association (CETA)
The Calcutta Electric Traders Association (CETA) is one of the oldest and largest traders association in India. They conducted a mediation awareness programme to sensitize their members about the benefits of mediation in contractual matters.
12) Inner Wheel Club, Kolkata
Inner Wheel Club, Kolkata, Lansdowne is one of the largest women's service voluntary organisations in West Bengal. They have three key objectives: To Promote True Friendship, To Encourage the Ideals of Personal Service and Foster International Understanding. The conducted a mediation awareness seminar for all their member families under the leadership and guidance of. To know more about them, click here.
13) Centre for Advanced Mediation Practice (CAMP)
Envisioned by Ms. Laila Ollapally, a leading mediator in the country, who set up the Bangalore Mediation Centre (the mediation program annexed
to the High Court of Karnataka) Centre for Advanced Mediation Practice was set up to give disputing parties easy and comfortable access to professional mediation services without having to go to Court. CAMP is run by a group of legal professionals who are committed to helping disputing parties collaborate and find a mutually acceptable win/win solution through a process that is confidential, quick and cost- effective. CAMP is recognised by the International Mediation Institute (“IMI”), the leading accrediting institution in the world for mediation, to certify mediators complying with the international mediator standards set out by IMI. Their collaborators also include JAMS, The Foundation for Sustainable Rule of Law Initiatives, Singapore International Mediation Centre, Edward Mediation Academy and Vahura. To know more about them, click here.
14) ADR-ODR
ADR-ODR International Limited, based in London, is at its core a global collection of ADR professionals which works across 3 main areas, known as the Civil-Commercial hub, the Family hub and the Workplace hub. They have a strong international presence with partners ranging from International Academy of Dispute Resolution in Chicago to Lebanese Association for Mediation And Conciliation (LAMAC) to Kenya School of Law.
Their mediation training programs are skill based and practical with over 70% of your time spent in role-play with tutor-observed mediation sessions. It is presented by highly experienced international tutors and mediation practitioners who give comprehensive feedback and guidance throughout. Mr. Rahim Shamji, Chief Executive Officer and lead trainer of ADR-ODR, International is one of the most renowned mediation trainers in international mediation circuit and someone who teaches this subject with passion. To know more about them , click here. They are conducting the mediation training programme under the IMW banner at NUJS in January,2018.
15) Association of Mediation Practitioners (AMP)
Association of Mediation Practitioners is the coming together of over a dozen mediators, having varying trainings, to become the very first stand-alone mediation service provider in Mumbai, with its own set of Mediation/Conciliation Rules. They conducted the first ever intra-mediation competition with NUJS under the Indian Mediation Week. We are highly grateful to Tanu Mehta and Prathamesh D Popat for extending their support to the cause of mediation in India. To know more about them , click here.
16) Anon Productions
Anon Productions, Kolkata were the official media partner of Indian Mediation Week. They provide photo, design and video services. They provide for event Coverage, promotional videos, ad films, testimonials, music videos & more. To know more about them , click here.
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Mentorship Support
1) Hon'ble Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur
Hon'ble Justice Madan Lokur, Member, MCPC), Supreme Court of India, New Delhi extended his support to the Indian Mediation Week. He was extremely impressed by the initiative taken by NUJS students of conducting these mediation awareness drives and promoting access to justice by going to the streets. He also encouraged students from other National Law Universities to conduct similar awareness drives in their respective states, so that we can promote amicable resolution of disputes around the country. It was our honor to have him on board in capacity of the chief mentor of this event.
2) Hon'ble Justice Biswanath Somadder, Calcutta High Court
Hon'ble Justice Biswanath Somadder, Chairperson of Mediation and Conciliation Committee, High Court, Kolkata is spear-heading the mediation movement in West Bengal. He is responsible for conceptualizing mediation weeks in different parts of West Bengal. He graced the university with his presence in the closing ceremony of Indian Mediation Week and engaged with students on various aspect of mediation. We are extremely grateful to him for showing his support for this first nationwide campaign on mediation. To know more about his initiatives, click here.
3) Hon'ble Justice Protik Prokash Banerjee, Calcutta High Court
Justice Protik Prokash Banerji has been involved with Indian Mediation Week since its inception. His unrelenting support was one of the driving factors behind its success. We are extremely grateful to him.
