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Author	Dr Sneha Singh
Organisation/Institution	Adamas University, West Bengal
Country	INDIA
Panel	International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
Title	COMMUNITY MEDIATION IN ASIA: PRACTICE AND IMPLEMENTATION DIFFERENCES IN INDIA AND SRI LANKA
Abstract	Community Mediation has the potential to promise and deliver solutions along with speedy, fair and effective justice above and beyond the traditional court processes. It has been practiced in Asia for the longest time possible with the interplay of sociological and legal principles. Members of the community are largely respected and the deterrence to litigation is high due to the expenses, time and procedure involved thereto. In developed nations and states, community mediation is often practiced through the active community programs wherein cases such as small claims, torts, general civil and criminal demeanor are considered- cases which would not lead to gross violation of rights and fundamentally affect the individuals rights but at the same time are tortious enough to be attended to. In India, community mediation has been practiced for ages but the formal process started in the year 2022 with the introduction of The Mediation Act, 2023. The statutory recognition of mediation established for a process to resolve disputes, affective local peace and harmony, such as neighborhood conflicts through the help of local community mediators.it would be a voluntary process wherein a panel of three local community mediators would engage to help the parties to reach a mutually agreed upon settlement. The discussions are facilitated in a neutral environment to de-escalate the tension and the settlement is subsequently signed and authenticated by the mediators who are audience to both the parties. It being a consent decree, the scope of further litigation is reduced and the dialogue helps the parties understand the root cause of such differences. Mediation is practiced extensively in Sri Lanka. It is often resorted to at the community level and multiple applications are placed under the Mediation Boards Act 1988. This act institutionalized mediation at the community level in Sri Lanka. Such statutory recognition made the process more accessible, less expensive, speedy and an interactive participative method of dispute resolution. Mediators are to be trained objectively by the Ministry of Justice before they can be approved as mediators and they follow a specific facilitative mediation model as taught in the training program. The matters can be referred through Voluntary referral, mandatory referral (for both civil and criminal matters) and court referrals. One of the drawbacks is that the only sanction for non-attendance to mediation is naming of the non-attending party in the certificate for non-settlement. Mediators are often well respected members of the village community who practice an interest based model of mediation which is followed by several meetings, inspections and co-related meetings with other stakeholders. However, the success of mediation has been limited at the community level in Sri Lanka with corporations preferring to write off the losses than getting involved in litigation. Matters are often referred to arbitration which is equally lengthy, tiresome and expensive for the litigation. Through this paper the research would focus on understanding the effectiveness of a statute for the prominence of mediation. In Sri Lanka while the statute was framed in the year 1988 the statute in India was in 2023 which leads to decades of difference in terms of recognition of the process for the requirements of implementation and thereto. The paper will elaborate as to the nature of cases referred for community mediation in India and Sri Lanka to conclude if the legislative provisions and framework can affect the popularity and integration of community mediation for the masses at large.
Biography	Dr. Sneha Singh is an Associate Professor of Law at the School of Law and Justice, Adamas University, Kolkata. She earned her PhD from WBNUJS in 2022, focusing on the statutory recognition of mediation under “Settlement of Disputes Outside Court.” She also holds an LL.M. in Commercial Laws from WBNUJS, where her dissertation explored SEBI’s regulatory framework for mergers and acquisitions, a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Calcutta University, and an MBA in Human Resource Management from Pondicherry University completed in 2023. With teaching experience beginning in November 2016, Dr. Singh has served as faculty at numerous institutions including Symbiosis Law School Noida and St. Xavier’s University in Kolkata, and has lectured at WBNUJS, Calcutta University’s Heritage Law College, and the Central Detective Training School. Her research career spans several years, including work as a law clerk at the Calcutta High Court and as a research assistant on projects in public policy, corporate law, and mediation. She has contributed through publications, conference papers, and as a resource person for legal training programs.