Legal Aspects of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in India

Due to the significant judicial backlog, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has now become a key part of justice delivery in India. The paper gives a detailed legal overview of ADR in India, looking at the ways it began in ancient times and ended up in statutes. It studies the legal foundations and working methods of main ADR options, namely arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiation, judicial settlement and Lok Adalats. Looking at the top judgments from India reveals the important role the courts have played in changing how ADR is seen and adopted in the country. It also talks about the benefits of ADR, especially that it can be less expensive and faster, but also highlights issues such as people not knowing about it and the involvement of courts. It also studies recent changes in the law, for example the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and the Mediation Act, 2023, as well as new methods like Online Dispute Resolution, to forecast the path ADR will head in India.