Speedy justice: ‘ADRC working successfully’

Centre mostly deals with civil and family cases

MULTAN: The Alternate Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC), recently established at district courts to resolve disputes between litigents sans further litigation, have successfully settled 50 cases since its inception in June 2017.

The ADRCs were established across Punjab at district level following the orders of Lahore High Court, to provide an option to the people to get their disputes resolved without going into litigation and the set up was a source of relief for parties willing to avoid litigation.

"There is no compulsion on parties to opt for ADRC. They all approach ADRC with their freewill just to avoid chronic litigation," said Mediator ADRC Multan, Riaz Ahmad Khan. He said free consent of both parties was the beauty of the ADRC initiative based on Section 89-A of the Civil Procedure Code 1908. He said a similar system was also functioning successfully in different European countries.

He said every disputed matter between litigants was kept confidential. The ADRC mostly deals with civil and family cases, however, some compoundable criminal cases were also settled at the centre, he added. He said an 18-month old rent dispute case was settled in just 30 minutes at the ADRC Multan, adding that many family disputes involving blood relations and others had been resolved successfully through the ADRC.

"We conduct different sessions separately with the parties where we discuss possible options for resolution of the disputes and also give them time to think about their options and consult anyone else they want to reach a conclusion," he said. The judges deputed as mediators had undergone special training before joining the ADRCs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2017.