The inaugural session of the five days orientation program on meditation for final year students of Government Law colleges was conducted on 1st of July 2023. The program was organised by Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram in association with the Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre. The event was enthroned with the presence of Hon’able Judge High Court of Kerala and President of board of Governors, KSMCC Hon’able Mr. Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque.
Justice Mustaque urged law students to explore the plethora of opportunities presented at the fore. He shared his thoughts on mediation being a daily affair rather than a constricted one. He elaborated on inculcating the qualities of human nature, namely, intelligence and authority within mediation.
The hon’able Justice laid out his surfeit of experiences which evoked curiosity in the students and marked the session to be an interactive one. He was successful in educating the students on the crux of conflict resolution and introduction of mediation as a medium. He discussed the need for establishment of several commissions and institutions for the speedy trial of cases via mediation. His insights on the response-reaction mechanism and hijacker’s syndrome hit the nail on it’s head in providing a refined perspective.
The learnt mediator panel shed light on trust being the crux of mediation. They introduced mediation as a warrior of quite resolution. Various stages of conflict resolution such as identification of the conflict, implementation of different tools for conflict resolution were highlighted. The event certainly had a conspicuous number of dignitaries on the dais, namely, Principal I/C Meenakumary, sub judge Sri Shamnad, mediator trainors including Sri. Bhuvanendran Nair, Adv. Renadive, Adv. Kulathoor Jayakumar, PTA representative Adv. G. Muraleedharan and the faculty representative Sri. Safi Mohan.
The Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre is an initiative of the High Court of Kerala. It has been conceived as a project for giving effect to S.89 of the CPC which provides for mediation as an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism. It is very welcoming to learn that the centre is all set on embarking a journey to create a paradime shift in the conception of mediation. It is yet another feather in the hat that such an initiative is a first across India. The Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram which is stepping into its 150th year swivelling to be the stage for a splendid making of history is indeed remarkable.
