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New Delhi : NITI Aayog on November 29, 2021, released the report ‘Designing the Future of Dispute Resolution: The ODR Policy Plan for India’, to scale dispute avoidance, containment, and resolution online. The rollout of the stated recommendations in the report can help make India a world leader in using technology and innovation through Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) for effective access to justice for every individual.
The report is a culmination of the action plan made by a committee constituted at the peak of the Covid crisis by NITI Aayog on ODR in 2020 and chaired by Supreme Court Justice (Retd) AK Sikri.
The report recommends measures at three levels to tackle challenges in adopting ODR framework in India. At the structural level, it suggests actions to increase digital literacy, improve access to digital infrastructure, and train professionals as neutrals to deliver ODR services, according to a PIB release.
At the behavioural level, the report recommends adoption of ODR to address disputes involving Government departments and ministries. At the regulatory level, the report recommends a soft-touch approach to regulate ODR platforms and services. This involves laying down design and ethical principles to guide ODR service providers to self-regulate while fostering growth and innovations in the ecosystem. The report also stresses on strengthening the existing legislative framework for ODR by introducing necessary amendments to statutes. The report offers a phased implementation framework for ODR in India.
ODR is the resolution of disputes, particularly small- and medium-value cases, using digital technology and techniques of ADR, such as arbitration, conciliation, and mediation. It refers to the process of using technology for dispute avoidance, containment, and resolution outside the traditional court system. As a dispute resolution avenue it can be provided both as an extension of the public court system and outside of it. World over, the potential of dispute resolution mechanisms, especially through technology, is being recognized. Increasingly, ODR has received impetus across Government, businesses, and even the judicial processes to tide over the constraints due to Covid-19.
‘Designing the Future of Dispute Resolution: The ODR Policy Plan for India’ was released in the presence of Justice (Retd) A K Sikri, NITI Aayog VC Dr Rajiv Kumar, Members Prof. Ramesh Chand, Dr VK Saraswat, and Dr V K Paul, CEO Amitabh Kant, Secretary (Law) AK Mendiratta, and other senior officials of NITI Aayog.
At the release of the report, Justice (Retd) A K Sikri observed: “ODR is an idea whose time has come I appreciate NITI Aayog’s initiative to set up this expert committee at the right time.The report—which has consulted all stakeholders, including the judiciary and executive—will be significant and impactful.”
NITI Aayog VC Dr Rajiv Kuma said, “NITI Aayog has worked extensively on measures that can help enhance efficiency and accessibility to justice for every person who seeks it. ODR will go a long way in resolving disputes and the report needs to be expeditiously implemented.”
“Through the ODR report, our aim is to create a sustainable framework—one that adapts and endures the test of time to become an option of first recourse for several categories of claims in a dynamic manner,” added NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.