Arbitration, mediation and conciliation can deliver wholesome justice: Madras HC Judge

Arbitration, mediation and conciliation can deliver wholesome justice and personalised solutions as conflicts are bound to rise with increasing contribution by the manufacturing sector to the economy, said Madras High Court Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy.

Delivering the inaugural address at the National Conference on Alternate Dispute Resolution on Saturday, Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy said, “Arbitration can serve better, can deliver wholesome justice because you can choose what are all the conflicts and submit it to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator where at one stop you get the relief.” 

“Mediation and conciliation can deliver [justice]. Manufacturing sector is contributing to the economy and employment. Conflicts are bound to arise. A conflict can be a labour conflict, can be one of a consumer and a manufacturer or others. Each of these conflicts has a particular context. Most labour contracts are structural contracts,” said Justice Chakravarthy. 

Pointing to conflicts which are cultural, he said: “For a consumer it may be emotional. He bought your product at the time of his son’s wedding, it didn’t work on that particular day. What is it you are going to do, repair or replace later? Therefore, the purpose is first we should understand the nature of the contract and then choose the best method to resolve it.”

“The idea is to resolve. If we are to resolve, there is a legalistic way, there is a universal way to go as per law. But then there are alternatives. By alternatives we do not mean that it is not within the four corners of law, but a different way of dealing with the same problem. World over, starting from the West, who are very problem centric, they want to quickly get rid of the problem and move on, to the Far East, where they say, even when they resolve conflict, they want to give face even to their opponent. It can be extremely people centric, or problem centric,” he said.

“Therefore as manufacturers, as persons in the field, we have to step up and choose the right alternative. First, we must know that the same problem can be treated in a different way. Sometimes it is better to have professional help.”

The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Registrar Gowri Ramesh, Supreme Court Advocate ADN Rao and National General Secretary, All India Manufacturers’ Organisation, R. Radhakrishnan spoke.