Have you have heard in your family or from knowns of a court case of property or otherwise filed by a grandfather or father and now being handled and pursued by his successors in court. There are higher chances that you might have heard such stories. It makes you think about the uncertainty of Finality.
Why court litigation takes so long, with no finality insight? There are several reasons for it, be it backlog in courts, insufficient strength of available judges, lack of infrastructure, etc. But there is another reason, which is the choice of process for resolution of the dispute.
The courts follow the adjudicatory system to end a dispute, which is the “Zero-Sum” game, which means one person’s loss is the gain of the other person. It means it is more often than not that one litigant in the court case is dissatisfied with the outcome of the dispute.
“It is very critical to choose the right process for resolution, which is in sync with your goal. Interpersonal disputes relating to marriage should be resolved with Mediation, as it focuses on the future and not on the past.”
This results in the escalation of the dispute. A judgment passed with a positive intent of settling the dispute bring into fore a new challenge in the form of appeal or revision. Imagine, this catastrophic situation in matters relating to marriage, where emotions are involved and any continued bitterness would harm relations not only between the spouse but also affects the welfare of their children.
Can there be an alternative to this adjudicatory court process? A process where the disputes are resolved and not adjudicated, thus giving finality to the dispute. A resolution, which is of the parties and by the parties, so they can participate willingly for it to achieve a resolution with facilitation of a neutral third party mediator while focusing on their future. A process with confidentiality, volunteer, and self-determination as its core features. The answer is the process called “Mediation”.
There are lots of benefits of Mediation like confidentiality, self determination, voluntary and more, encouraging people to get their disputes resolved through mediation. Today I will discuss one such benefit, which is the Finality” it brings to the dispute. A sense of certainty to its finality.
The people who do not treat life like a roll of dice and given a choice always choose “certainty” of a dime over “uncertainty” of a dollar would choose mediation to resolve their dispute.
As mediation brings the curtain down to dispute and finality to the litigation. However, a greater concern has been of its binding nature and enforceability. When we talk about finality, there are two aspects to it.
1. Full stop on the continuation of litigation; and
2. Enforcement of settlement agreement.
Bringing a full stop to litigation
Imagine a party filed a suit and won it in the trial court, only to be told that an appeal is the continuation of the suit. And, if the appeal is allowed, the suit once he thought of already been won, would be lost. Litigation is like a roller coaster with ups and downs but mediation is like a train destined to reach for resolution, which would bring a full stop to litigation. An important benefit of mediation is that as it resolves the dispute between the parties, all pending litigations in court comes to end and it brings a finality.
“The benefit of mediation is that as it resolves the dispute and brings finality”.
Mediated settlement agreements are mostly self- compliant
A party leaves a mutual and voluntary settled mediation with the confidence of the same being acted upon. There is no worry that it needs to be executed through the help of the court. There is a finality, as the same would be self-complied by the party.
A settlement agreement achieved in mediation is
also made binding and enforceable as a consent decree of the court and also
under Sec. 21 of Delhi State Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. However, since
a mediated settlement is always mutual, volunteered and self-determined and
therefore, mostly the terms are self-compiled by the parties. It is another
benefit of mediation, as there are less likely chances of a party seeking execution
of a mediated settlement, saving costs and time.
The Author, Legal Mind Ajit Kumar, is a Relationship Coach, Family Mediator, and an expert in conflict resolution besides being a practicing Divorce/Family Lawyer. For seeking a Marital or Divorce Mediation through Video Conferencing and one to one online/phone counseling on any relationship issues, you can call and make an appointment at 9810522134. If you are in a dysfunctional marriage and looking for a quick divorce, visit our website https://medvorce.com for a free registration by creating an account to find if you are qualified for a mutual and uncontested divorce.
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