Where are the ADR councils?

Arbitration as an alternative method of resolving disputes is not new to India. Before and after the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, was amended, a few private-sector arbitration organisations operated in different states. The private nature of arbitration’s private approach to dispute settlement allowed private players to establish and operate arbitration organisations. Yet, the much-discussed expansion of institutionalised alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in response to the mounting pressure on courts is still largely absent.

The opening sentence of the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee’s report on the institutionalisation of arbitration reads: “The Government of India, under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, is committed to the speedy resolution of commercial disputes and to making India an international hub of arbitration and a centre of robust ADR mechanisms, at par with international standards…”  

The high-level committee was constituted to review India’s arbitration ecosystem and recommend improvements. It met seven times in eight months and submitted its report to Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad on August 3, 2017.

Since then, India has gone through two general elections, changed law ministers twice, amended the Arbitration Act twice (in 2019 and 2021), and passed the Mediation Act, 2023, but the promised institutionalisation has yet to materialise. The enactment of the Mediation Act took over three years of deliberations.

Both acts claimed to institutionalise ADR in India by creating the Arbitration Council of India (ACI) and the Mediation Council of India (MCI).

Again, on March 20, 2025, the current law minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, told the Rajya Sabha: “The government is promoting ADR mechanisms, including arbitration and mediation, as these mechanisms are less adversarial and are capable of providing a better substitute for the conventional methods of resolving disputes. The government is further taking policy and legislative interventions to strengthen these mechanisms and make them more efficacious and expeditious.”

The law minister’s explanation of the legislative provisions for ADR in these acts came across as little more than beating around the bush.

The member of parliament who raised the question in the House sought a specific update: What steps has the government taken to establish and operationalise the ACI as well as the MCI—both bodies intended to encourage, support, and regulate ADR services beyond government-led initiatives?

This is not the first time a law minister has promised the institutionalisation of ADR. Previous ministers have also assured Parliament of the establishment and functioning of the ACI and MCI. These councils were envisioned to support the growth of ADR service providers in a country where over five crore pending cases clog the courts that are already burdened with poor infrastructure, unfilled judicial positions, and gender disparities in the higher judiciary.

Even the finance minister has allocated funds in two successive budgets to operationalise these councils.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar recently mooted the idea of India as a global dispute resolution centre – “In the last 10 years, I have seen the growth of credible arbitral centres in Dubai and Singapore. On self-assessment, without fear of contradiction, I can say we are nowhere,” he said.

Despite all the talk – through seminars, workshops, and arbitration weeks, and assurances in the parliament – the two councils remain on paper. Section 11(3A) of the Act requires that the High Courts and Supreme Court name Arbitration Institutions; nevertheless, this remains a non-starter, and the Arbitration Institutions’ applications are pending before the High Courts for unknown reasons. Except for a tiny number of Arbitration Institutions developed and supported by well-known law firms, state governments do not aid other professionally constituted ADR organisations. Thus, there is an urgent need for the Centre and all High Courts to take note of the arbitration and mediation institutions in each state and designate them as ADR institutions to reduce the burden on courts and make India an ADR hub..

(The writer is a former International Senior Advisor, UNDP)