Chief justice of India S A Bobde has stressed on the need to have a comprehensive law on making pre-litigation mediation mandatory. He said it would ensure efficiency and reduce the time of pendency for parties as well as courts.

Speaking at the third International Conference organised by the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA ) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) yesterday, Justice Bobde said the time is ripe to devise such a law.

The Chief Justice of India said, though arbitration is the most preferred mode of privately resolving a big range of disputes today, it is done at the cost of mediation and conciliation which is faster and less expensive. He said, arbitration and mediation are deeply embedded in dispute resolution mechanisms in India’s commercial practices and social life.