Chief Justice Surya Kant said on Friday (December 26, 2025) that he envisions a court which is not just a place for hearing cases but becomes a center for comprehensive resolution of disputes. Addressing the inaugural session of the Bar Council of India’s National Conference and Mediation Seminar in South Goa, the Chief Justice said that there is a need for more number of mediators at all levels, from District Courts to the Supreme Court.
He said that pending cases can be reduced through mediation and this is not a sign of the law being weak but of its being highly developed. He said, ‘When we look towards the future, I envision a court where the court is not just a place for hearing cases but is a comprehensive center for dispute resolution.’ CJI Surya Kant said that when a person goes to court for justice, he should get the option of mediation and ultimately litigation.
Justice Surya Kant said that the concept of comprehensive court is the supreme means of empowering the litigants. After administering the ‘Oath of Mediation’ to all present at the event, the Chief Justice said that mediation is an issue which is very close to his heart and for which he has deep faith.
He said, ‘While litigation is often a post-mortem of a dead relationship and a clinical examination of what went wrong, mediation, in contrast, is a therapeutic process that attempts to maintain the vitality of the relationship. To truly understand the importance of mediation in the current context, we must look at the local matter.
The Chief Justice said that the success of mediation depends not only on the mediator’s ability to speak the local or regional language but also on his ability to understand the speech, body language and cultural idioms of the person for whom mediation is being conducted.
Emphasizing the need for mediation training, he said that 39,000 trained mediators exist, but there is a gap in ‘demand and supply’. The Chief Justice said that the country needs more than 2,50,000 trained mediators for effective implementation of mediation at all levels. He said the “Mediation for the Nation” campaign was launched in July this year with the aim of resolving various types of disputes including matrimonial, commercial and motor accident disputes to reduce the pendency of cases.
He said, ‘I want to tell you that the results have been much better than expected and very encouraging. I am confident that with the appointment of trained mediators at every level, our success story will reach even greater heights and important achievements will be achieved in this direction.
The Chief Justice said, ‘It is not a sign of the arbitration law being weak but of its great development. This is to move from a culture of judicial decision to a culture of participation, where we promote harmony. On this occasion, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Supreme Court judge Justice J.K. Maheshwari, Justice P.S. Narasimha, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Justice N. Kotishwar Singh, Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice S. Chandrashekhar, Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and Goa Advocate General Devidas Pangam were present among several dignitaries.
This program was organized at ‘India International University of Legal Education and Research’ located in South Goa. Earlier in the day, the Chief Justice took part in a symbolic walk for ‘arbitration awareness’ near the Academy of Arts in Panaji.
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