Centre approves Rs 854 crore project to strengthen courts

Kochi, Feb 14 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Law and Justice K Venkatapathy today said the Centre had approved a Rs 854-crore project to strengthen and reform the regular law courts in the country.

Addressing a gathering at a function at the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, he said the project would be undertaken to modernise the courts with the application of IT. The project would help to cut delays and bring efficiency in the working of the courts and a better judge-population ratio, he added.

The Centre was also mulling to usher in legal reforms and to improve procedural laws.

Reiterating the importance of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), Mr Venkatapathy said community-based ADR mechanism should be promoted along with court annexed options.

He said the ADR methods should be given due importance to provide litigants a fast, economical and less formal alternative system of justice delivery.

The Minister said the ADR techniques like arbitration, mediation, conciliation, mediation-arbitration, mini-trial, private judging, final offer arbitration, court-annexed ADR and summary jury trial were a fast track system of dipensing justice.

To give a fillip to the ADR mechanism, the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) planned to establish regional centres in all the state capitals.

He noted that the first such Centre was establsied in Hyderabad and the next Centre would be set up in Bangalore shortly.

Mr Venkatapathy said the advantages of dispute-resolution administered by the ICADR included time and cost saving, autonomy to parties in an international dispute and choice of applicable law.

The Minister admitted that ADR mechanisms would not be appropriate where a definitive or authoritative resolution of the case was required.

UNI