One of the major concerns of all investors and innovators, foreign as well as domestic is the time, effort and money it takes to resolve a dispute in India. The problem is increasingly difficult for startups whose dispute value may be less than a crore or even INR 50 lakhs. Increasing number of companies are becoming vary of arbitration due to its increasing cost and high probability of court appeal. Increasing number of companies are opting to refer disputes to mediation before proceeding to arbitration or litigation.

Mediation is assisted negotiation. It is a flexible process conducted confidentially in which a neutral party i.e. the mediator, manages the interaction between disputing parties to help them come to a negotiated settlement of the dispute. The disputants and not the mediator have ultimate control over the decision to settle and terms of resolution. The final terms of settlement are recorded in the form of a binding agreement. The process is time bound and cost effective. Another motivation for choosing mediation is confidentiality of the entire process and all concessions made by parties during negotiation. Since the parties mutually agree to the settlement terms, probability of litigation over settlement is also low.

Mediation is also gaining momentum with the introduction of Section 442 under Companies Act, 2013 which provides for referral of company disputes to mediation from the newly constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

With the growing demand for mediation in India, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) is in the process of setting up India International Mediation Centre (IIMC), the first of its kind in India for handling various domestic and cross border commercial disputes at pre and post litigation stage.

Becoming a mediator requires a complete 360 degree change in the outlook of the person towards a dispute. Hence, as a first step in its initiative, IICA proposes to carry out a series of mediation training across India (Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati).

Registration for the training is open. For more information please visit http://mediationiica.in/