ECONOMYNEXT – Businesses in Sri Lanka can resolve disputes faster using mediation rather than getting embroiled in court cases, but awareness about the process is poor, Colombo-based International Alternative Dispute Center (IADRC) said.
The IADRC has engaged in mediating eight disputes since its start, Dhara Wijayatilake, Director and Secretary General of IADRC said.
“It is not a place like a court of law or arbitration where you look at what your legal rights are and insist on that position and argue right through until your arguments are accepted or rejected,” Wijayatilake told reporters, explaining the mediation process.
“The (disputed) parties and mediators work together to identify what issues are in the dispute,”
“General acceptance is that mediation finishes very fast, sometimes in a day, sometimes in a week, sometimes in a month or it will take a little more. But never, never years.”
There has been an increasing trend in businesses incorporating clauses with regard to dispute resolutions in legal documents, she said.
IADRC will host a national symposium on commercial mediation on January 29 on the use of mediation in commercial dispute resolution with an aim to create awareness on the benefits of such efforts in businesses instead of going for litigation in courts.
The upcoming symposium is designed to demystify mediation across various contexts with details on the benefits it has over litigation.
Faster dispute resolution through commercial mediation will improve Sri Lanka’s Doing Business environment and being accepted as an investment-friendly country and help use its strategic location to become a hub and attracting international business and fostering economic growth, the IADRC said.
Commercial mediation is widespread in other countries.
“Globally, mediation has become an increasingly popular alternative to litigation and other adversarial dispute resolution processes that often take time and cost,” International ADR Center said in a statement.
“It’s accepted as being meaningful because of benefits such as ensuring party autonomy, facilitating better communication between disputants, being cost-effective and time efficient, and has the potential to preserve business relationships and save cost to the governments.”
(Colombo/January 23/2025)
