Shillong, Nov 4: The courtroom may soon be the last resort in Meghalaya. The High Court has begun a 40-hour intensive training to turn judicial officers and legal minds into skilled mediators who can settle disputes through talk, not trial.
The programme on “Concepts and Techniques of Mediation” is being organised by the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority along with the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court and the Mediation Committee of the High Court of Meghalaya.
Inaugurating the training, Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere said mediation’s true strength lies not in force, but in dialogue that heals and restores relationships. She said when people talk, they don’t just settle a case, they save a relationship.
Using the story of two brothers quarrelling over an orange, the Chief Justice showed how a mediator can look beyond the fight and find what each side really needs, a solution a judge in an adversarial trial may never reach.
She said mediation is voluntary, confidential and neutral, and gives people greater control over the outcome. It is faster, cheaper, less stressful and far more satisfying, especially in family, matrimonial, inheritance, business, workplace and neighbourhood disputes.
A mediator, she said, must be patient, persistent, impartial and open-minded, and must know how to use words that make both sides feel heard and not disadvantaged.
Justice H.S. Thangkhiew and Justice W. Diengdoh also spoke at the inaugural session, which was attended by Justice B. Bhattacharjee, judicial officers and trainees.
