Delay in setting up mediation council partly due to HR crunch, says A-G
Delay in setting up mediation council partly due to HR crunch, says A-G
New Delhi, Attorney General R Venkataramani on Tuesday cited human resource crunch as a reason for the delay in setting up a mediation council two years after Parliament passed the Mediation Act.
Talking to reporters here, the top law officer said there is a problem today in many such statutes becoming functional.
He said at times "we don't get the kind of person who ought to be there. We also face this problem with judicial appointments".
Venkataramani said when the Union law minister suggested some names, he had certain "reservations". He told the minister not to go "in a great hurry", the A-G said.
He said the chief justice of India too asked him to be careful on who is selected for the job.
People who want to build networking through the assignment do not help the cause, and those who look beyond such vested interests are required for the job, Venkataramani said.
Responding to a question on not getting appropriate persons for the council, he said a human resource crunch is part of the problem.
"We can get them," he said, expressing hope that the council would be set up soon.
Union Law Secretary Anju Rathi Rana said the government is seized of the matter and a decision will be taken soon.
The A-G said a proposed conference on mediation on May 3 will probably push the agenda for a mediation ecosystem in the country.
President Droupadi Murmu will address the conference, Venkataramani said.
The Mediation Act has proposed the setting up of a mediation council of India to regulate mediators.
Its other functions include registering mediators, and recognising mediation service providers and mediation institutes.
The law lists disputes, which are fit or not fit for mediation.
Venkataramani said the proposed conference, which will also have technical sessions, would be attended by judges and chief justices of high courts and state advocate generals.
The idea is to make the mediation ecosystem active and vibrant at the state level in the near future, Venkataramani said.
Later, speaking to PTI, former law secretary P K Malhotra wondered as to why experts in the field of mediation cannot be finalised for the council at a time when the country does not lack people active in the field.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.