Abstract :
As the courts are not in a stance to hold up the entire load of the judicial system,
multitudinous contentions impart themselves to settlement by alternative methods such as
arbitration, conciliation, mediation, negotiation, etc. The Alternative dispute resolution
processes not only lay out procedural pliability but also save valuable time & money and
eschew the tensity of a conventional trial. Nearly all the discords involving civil, labour,
commercial, and family strife, wherein the parties are capacitated to wind up a resolution,
can be resolved by an alternative dispute resolution system. Alternate dispute resolution
methods have also been evinced to operate in the business environment, principally in
respect of disputation comprising intellectual property, securities, real estate, construction
projects, joint ventures, partnership differences, personal injury, professional liability,
product liability, contract interpretation and performance and insurance coverage. To
dwindle the logjam of cases, there is a crucial need to organize and encourage alternate
dispute resolution services for the settlement of both national and international conflicts.
These services require to be nutrified on sound notions, prowess in their application and
comprehensive and contemporary provisions. Although ADR has proven to be an efficacious
mechanism as it has provided a congenial atmosphere, a less formal and less complicated
forum for copious disputes, due to lack of awareness of its quiddity at the ground root level
has abrupted its quantum leap. This paper aims to provide the gist of ADR concerning India
by focusing on its purpose, advantages and disadvantages, (fruitful) modes of conflict
resolution, highlighting the importance of Lok Adalat, significance and effectiveness of ADR
in conflict resolution and ways to overcome the persisting deficiencies.
Keyword :
Alternative Dispute Resolution, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiation, Lok Adalat, Mobile Lok Adalats, Online Dispute Resolution, e-ADR.