Mediation should become the new mantra among lawyers before it escalates to any level, said Justice M N Venkatachalaiah, former Chief Justice of India (CJI).

At the one-day Legal Leadership Conclave on “Challenges and Future of Arbitration and Mediation in India,” organised by the India Legal Research Foundation, Justice Venkatachalaiah said with the rise in the number of litigants and cases, it was high time the country accepted and adopted mediation and arbitration as a formal legal route.

“We have 34 million pending cases across the country. Of the 22,000 subordinate courts in the country, there are a minimum of 120 litigants and 120 Lawyers and witnesses who visit these courts everyday. Most of the time, they go back empty handed as their matters are delayed. This is a precious loss of man hours and we should not allow it to come to such a stage.” Click to read more, via The Hindu Business Line