40-Hour Mediation Training Course Concludes In Hyderabad

Hyderabad, July 12: ‘Mediation is the best alternative to dispute resolution in India, and it is a better way to reduce the burden on courts,’ said Mrs. Gandha Sahu, senior mediation trainer here on July 11. Mrs. Gandha has been in Hyderabad for the last six days, training a batch of prospective mediators at the Amika Arbitration and Mediation Council (AAMC) in Hyderabad. AAMC has organised a 40-hour mediation training to develop a core team of professional mediators and deploy them in society to take up mediation as an alternative approach to dispute resolution, said Gandha in her valedictory session at AAMC. They strictly followed the training manual suggested by the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC), the Supreme Court of India.

Twelve participants comprising advocates, social workers, and senior bureaucrats attended the training course. MCPC master trainers like AJ Jawad, Senior Mediation trainers Tanu Mehta, Ekta Bahl from Samvad partners, and Dr. P.L. Raju have trained the participants in different aspects of mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

While expressing the support of AAMC for the 90-day mediation drive launched by the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) and the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) of the Supreme Court of India, Mr. Jyothi Rao, the president of AAMC, said it is the age of mediators who can replace lawyers in family, property, and commercial disputes that save time, money, and the relations of the disputants. Mrs. Jyothi Rao was presiding over the valedictory function of the mediation training programme. ‘The Mediation Act, 2023, enacted on September 15, 2023, aims at strengthening institutional mediation in India and encouraging investors in India to get their disputes resolved through mediation and arbitration instead of landing in courts and spending a lot of money and time. Even in family matters, it is a fact that every elder in the family tries to mediate between the disputing couple of family members, but they are not trained mediators.

Now, this mediation training develops professional mediators to address various issues that can be settled outside of court, explains Mrs. Rao. She further goes on to say that in many matrimonial disputes, the parents from both sides of the bride and groom are spending lakhs of rupees on marriage expenditures but not spending a few thousand to consult a mediator before marriage to get the bride and groom to be counselled about the responsibilities of married life, compatibilities, and even health issues related to a blissful married life. Therefore, trained mediators have the responsibility not only to grow professionally but also to act as responsible citizens who protect family relations, business relations, and women’s property rights, thereby preventing them from going to court. About 12 participants were awarded certificates of completion in the end.