There are plenty of reasons why community mediation programs have become so popular in the country. First, in a nation that is famous for court cases that sometimes drag on for decades, the speedy settlement of disputes through community mediation programs has come as a breath of fresh air. There have been instances when mediation has effectively resolved conflicts in a matter of a few hours. The courts in Nepal are simply unable to match up with mediation programs for a host of reasons ranging from structural problems to the sheer volume of cases that they have to handle: According to last year’s Supreme Court annual report, there are 58,833 pending cases in the courts of Nepal.
Two, seeking legal remedy in a court can burn one’s pocket and people in the rural parts, where disposable income is hard to come by, have begun to turn to such programs as they are far less expensive. Additionally, justice delivered in a court of law leaves one party a victor and the other a loser. However, since the whole idea of community mediation is reconciliation, justice is delivered in a non-confrontational environment, making the whole process more effective. As opposed to community mediation programs, courts in Nepal have been facing a huge challenge of implementing the verdicts. The Supreme Court is presently working on establishing a separate wing that would see to it that its verdicts are implemented without any delay.
It’s heartening to note that the courts in Nepal recognize the effectiveness of mediation programs and sometimes do not even hesitate to refer cases to them. To take this success story to the next level, now we need to ensure that community facilitators are formally trained for the job. We should also ensure that there are ample numbers of manpower for the job and at places where they are mostly needed. We hope that the Ministry of Law and Justice will soon finalize the draft mediation bill and it will become legally recognized. Community mediation programs have the capacity to complement the courts of Nepal in an unprecedented way, thus helping to take the country’s archaic justice-delivery system to another level.
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