Webinar on occasion of Constitution Day Celebration

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Cell of USLLS, GGSIPU organized a  webinar on the occasion of Law day and Constitution day on 26.11.2022 from 6:00 to  7 P.M. The theme of the event was “ACCESS TO JUSTICE: CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO ADR”. The event was graced by legal luminaries, Mr.Saurabh Kirpal, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court as the Guest of Honor, and Mr. Mukesh Kumar, Additional Public Prosecutor, Delhi High Court as the Distinguished Speaker. The total strength of the gathering was more than 80 and consisted of law students, legal practitioners, and academicians.

 The speakers then began their presentation and spoke extensively on the issue, followed by an insightful Q&A session with the participants. Mr. Kirpal in the beginning gave a brilliant exposition of the spirit and values of the Indian Constitution and the roles that lawyers have played in formulating it. Then he went on to explain to the participants how ADR supplements the values of the Indian Constitution and how the Constitution has been harmonized with it by the Constitution makers and subsequent legislations. In the preamble itself, our Constitution expresses this ideal, which talks of justice in all its forms i.e. social, economic and political. The Preamble guarantees all Indian people justice, cultural, economic, and political rights. The expression “Justice” speaks briefly of the and Legal Aid Camps, Family Courts, Village Courts, Mediation Centres, Commercial Arbitration, Women Centres Consumer Protection Forums, etc. which are but different facets of an effective alternative dispute resolution system. The attainment of the common good, therefore, as distinct from the good of individuals, is the essence of justice. Legal justice is part and parcel of social justice. As often the culture gets upset when the legal justice is refused. A legal system forms part of a state which maintains social stability by resolving disputes. In a country aimed at protecting citizens ‘ socio-economic and cultural rights, it is extremely necessary to settle cases in India rapidly, as the courts alone cannot handle the huge backlog of cases. This can be effectively achieved by applying the mechanisms of Alternative Dispute Resolution.    Mr. Kirpal was followed by Mr. Mukesh Kumar who carried on the discussion in the same vein and shared his practical experience with ADR in the Delhi High Court, as he himself practices as an empanelled mediator there. He explained to the students very intuitively how ADR sessions actually play out in real settings which the participants found to be very insightful. In addition to this, he also gave his insights on how lawyers first perceived ADR as a threat to their clientele, but then quickly got on board with it and started practicing it. After this, there was a long question and answer session of the speaker with participants which covered everything from digital justice, structural and systemic problems with ADR, to the hegemony of the First World and the West in International Commercial Arbitration. The need to create an alternative model of access to justice is deeply felt. It is said that alternative dispute settlement methods are versatile, affordable, swift and less formalistic in nature, making it a feasible alternative for the court of law to adjudicate. In the case of a simple disagreement, there is an alternative approach to the option of parties, aside from legal proceedings.

This Q&A session was very interactive and even involved the Professors of the Institution who discussed the issue with great erudition. The discussion was so stimulating that many questions of the participants could not be taken due to the paucity of time. However, it was assured by the speakers that they would be willing to engage with the participants again on a different occasion to cover the issues fully and in-depth. A total of 88 students were present in the capacity of participants in the webinar.

The session was brought to an end by Dr. Vandana Singh with a vote of thanks to the Guest of Honor ,the Distinguished Speaker & participants.

Faculty Coordinators

Dr. Vandana Singh

Dr.Zubair Ahmed Khan