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KOLKATA, Dec. 9

THE civil case has been going on in various courts for over two decades. And nobody was complaining. The venerable member of the bar, handling the case for the petitioner, on the eve of the next date of hearing fell sick, and sent his lawyer-son to appear on his behalf. The matter was successfully adjudicated, the case disposed of, and the son came home brimming with joy that he had achieved what his father could not for the last 20 years with a single court appearance. The old lawyer, instead of congratulating his son, slapped him on the face angrily, saying: "The entire family has been living off this case, and you, no good fella, went and spoilt it."

Narrating this tale to an assembly of lawyers and industry captains here at a conference on `Role of commercial arbitration in resolving domestic and international disputes,' organised by the International Chamber of Commerce India (ICC India), the Indian Council of Arbitration, the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and the ICC, Mr Justice A.K. Mathur, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, said the mindset of the members of the public as well as the bar would have to change if alternative methods of dispute resolution would have to succeed in this country.

If arbitration procedures too moved as slowly as cases in the courts, they would lose their identity. The speed with which disputes are resolved, and transparency practised by the arbitrators alone can contribute to the success of domestic as well as international arbitration. "Today, in commercial disputes, people cannot afford to wait for years together; they need their disputes resolved speedily," he said.

He cautioned that if these speedy methods of commercial arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which are modern substitutes of court, got affected by procedural wrangling and delay, they would also go down just as the civil courts in India. Speed alone would be the decisive factor for success of this arbitration or ADR method. He also cautioned that care should be taken while selecting arbitrators and that they should be persons of integrity as well as confidence, with expertise in the subject they were dealing with.

On the delay in the justice delivery system, he said since the Chief Justices nominated the arbitrators (under Section 11 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996), the feedback from various members of the bar and the litigants was that they were not happy for various reasons.

According to the Chief Justice, cases pending in the Calcutta High Court now were 2,34,090 and in the subordinate courts in the State, 4,99,195 (civil) and 11,37,196 (criminal).

Dr Robert Briner, Chairman of International Court of Arbitration of ICC in Paris, said through legal reform, India had sought to create conditions conducive to effective arbitration, and it was now up to the users to become convinced of the advantages that arbitration had to offer. The programme of economic development now on in India could not afford to overlook the fact that disputes would occur as international trading relations increased.

He felt it was therefore necessary to have an effective method of resolving the disputes expeditiously, and with security and flexibility. Arbitration, he felt, was capable of adapting to international situations while at the same time benefiting from a legal framework that ensured its effectiveness

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