The Talk:
Mediation is the fastest growing dispute resolution method worldwide. It is being used to resolve a wide range of personal, property and commercial disputes. The parties are helped by a neutral mediator to reach an agreement in a confidential and voluntary process. It is strikingly different from litigation. In cases where it can be used, it saves cost, time and relationships while ending dispute. The Courts are now referring cases to mediation.
Sriram Panchu:
Sriram Panchu is a Senior Advocate practising at the Madras High Court.
He is regarded as a pioneer of mediation in India. From the 1990s, he has been mediating cases and creating awareness about the concept of mediation through his writings and speeches.
He was instrumental in creating India?s first court-annexed mediation centre at the Madras High Court, a model replicated by other Courts in the country with his help. He has assisted the Supreme Court and other High Courts to set up their mediation centres.
Panchu has mediated a number of high profile commercial and civil cases. He was also appointed by the Supreme Court of India to mediate a 50 year old boundary dispute between the States of Assam and Nagaland in North-East India. The Court also appointed him to mediate a dispute involving the Parsi Punchayat in Bombay.
He has authored two books on mediation - Settle For More, an introduction to the subject, and a comprehensive manual Mediation Practice and Law.
Panchu is the founder of the Indian Centre for Mediation and Dispute Resolution.