Mediation
Solaris Legal serves as counsel in commercial mediations, ad hoc and institutional, domestic and cross-border. Instructions span pre-institution, court-referred and voluntary mediation in India, and cross-border mediations, including proceedings administered by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in London and mediations seated in the United States. The firm is also engaged before a dispute is escalated, to advise on strategy and, where possible, to settle by direct negotiation.
The legal framework
The Mediation Act 2023 is the principal statute, and a mediated settlement agreement in the prescribed form is enforceable as if it were a decree of a court. Pre-institution mediation in commercial matters is governed by Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015, while court referral of pending suits proceeds under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. A settlement with a cross-border element may engage the Singapore Convention on Mediation.
Scope
Pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015, including advice on the exemption for suits contemplating urgent interim relief.
Court-referred mediation of pending suits under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908.
Ad hoc and institutional mediation, including under the rules of the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee and of the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre.
Mediation before international institutions, including CEDR in London.
Mediation-before-arbitration structures in cross-border disputes.
Settlement of insurance and reinsurance claims through direct negotiation or structured mediation, for insurers, reinsurers and policyholders.
Contentious advisory work before a dispute is escalated, including the conduct of correspondence, direct negotiation and preservation of rights.
Drafting of mediated settlement agreements in the form the Mediation Act 2023 requires, and advice on their enforcement.
Advice on One Time Settlement offers in debt recovery and insolvency, including their effect on limitation under Section 18 of the Limitation Act 1963.
Online dispute resolution and e-mediation, conducted wholly or partly by video.
Where it applies