In India, Courts of Law are overburdened with cases. Number of Judges is grossly inadequate in relation to population. Justice delivery system is unable to cope with growing number of litigation. Inordinate delay, complicated procedure, over-technical approach, expenses involved and associated hazards act as serious impediment to the cause of justice, evoke a sense of helplessness and shake the confidence of the common people in efficaciousness of our justice delivery system. It is apprehended that this system may crumble under heavy weight of volume of cases.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (in short ADR) system has been designed and introduced to reduce burden of cases in Courts of Law. To emphasize the need for amicable settlement of disputes outside the Courts, Section 89 has been inserted in Civil Procedure Code imposing a duty on courts to refer disputes, if there exist elements of mutual settlement for a) Arbitration b) Conciliation c) Lok Adalat and d) Mediation.

Mediation is a quick, low cost and non-adversarial mode of ADR. Settlement through this mode usually does not leave behind any ill-feeling, bitterness or bickering. Mediation is a non-statutory non-binding procedure in which an impartial and skilled Mediator guides and assists the parties in working out mutually agreed settlement of disputes without any kind of compulsion or external pressure. Method followed in Mediation is flexible, non-technical and free from procedural rigidity or complexity. Because of its flexible nature, non-adversarial approach and wider opportunity of sitting together and exchanging respective perceptions on various aspects of the dispute, Mediation has already become very popular in USA and several European Countries. Success rate in Mediation is very high in USA and UK.

In some of the States in India like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Mediation is being resorted to as an effective mode of ADR and success rate is encouraging.

Most important requirement for successful Mediation is availability of skilled Mediators with proper training. A Mediator should have amiable and pleasing personality, analytical mind to explain things lucidly, persuasive faculties, capacity to inspire confidence, skill to explore the core of the problem and ability to guide the parties along the course of mutual settlement.

Centre for Mediation is a Society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961, It is a non-profit organization. It has been formed with the object of spreading awareness about the effectiveness of Mediation, imparting required training to have skilled and trained Mediators, offering facilities for Mediation and strengthening ADR system by encouraging people to settle disputes mutually through ADR mechanism.

The Society, Centre For Mediation, had its inaugural programme on February 11, 2011 in the auditorium of Hazra Law college where its President Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee, Vice President Justice Pradipta Ray, and Secretary Justice Aloke Chakrabarti were present. Various dignitaries were also present like Judges of the High Court, Judicial Minister of the State, Advocate General, Advocates, Social Workers, representatives and students of Hazra Law College and NUJS, and law students.
Prof. P.T. Hoffman of Houston University, USA was the key note speaker.