KSLU Solved Question Papers
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8
2019 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Alternative Dispute Resolution 2019 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2019 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2019 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2019 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2 hours · Total marks 60 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1State the concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution System.[9]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of Alternative Dispute Resolution and of each word in it; the idea behind it (consent, party control, access to justice); its constitutional base (Articles 14, 21 and 39A, Hussainara Khatoon); the spectrum of methods from negotiation to arbitration, adjudicatory and non-adjudicatory (Afcons); how the concept grew in Indian law (Arbitration Acts, Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, section 89 CPC, section 12A Commercial Courts Act, Mediation Act 2023); ADR as part of the justice system (Salem Advocate Bar Association 2002); its features; conclusion.
Meaning
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the group of methods for resolving disputes outside the formal court trial. In most of them the parties settle the dispute themselves, with or without a neutral person's help. In arbitration they accept the decision of a person they choose.
Each word carries meaning.
- Alternative. It is a different route from the ordinary civil or criminal trial. It is not lawless: it works within the law and is backed by statutes.
- Dispute. It deals with a real disagreement over rights or interests, usually private ones.
- Resolution. The aim is to end the dispute for good, by agreement or by a binding award.
Many writers now prefer to read the "A" as "appropriate" dispute resolution. The point is that the court is one method among several, and the right method depends on the dispute.
The idea behind ADR
Three ideas run through the concept.
- Consent. Most methods work only if the parties agree to use them, and in mediation and conciliation they also agree to the outcome.
- Party control. The parties choose the neutral, the procedure and often the result. A judgment is imposed; a settlement is owned.
- Access to justice. ADR brings a quick, cheap and simple remedy within reach of people who cannot afford long litigation.
Its constitutional base
Article 39A directs the State to secure that the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity. It also directs free legal aid, so that no citizen is denied justice for want of means. Speedy justice is part of the right to life under Article 21.
In Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, AIR 1979 SC 1369, undertrial prisoners in Bihar had spent years in jail without trial, many longer than the maximum sentence. The Supreme Court held that free legal service is an essential part of the "reasonable, fair and just" procedure Article 21 requires. The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, which set up Lok Adalats, grew out of this line of cases.
The spectrum of methods
ADR methods range from those where the parties decide to one where a third person decides.
| Method | Third person | Who decides | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negotiation | None | Parties | No statute |
| Mediation | Mediator, facilitates | Parties | Section 89 CPC; Mediation Act 2023 (mostly not in force) |
| Method | Third person | Who decides | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conciliation | Conciliator, may propose terms | Parties | Part III, 1996 Act |
| Lok Adalat | Bench, conciliates | Parties | Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 |
| Arbitration | Arbitrator, adjudicates | Arbitrator | Part I, 1996 Act |
In Afcons Infrastructure Ltd v. Cherian Varkey Construction Co (P) Ltd, decided on 26 July 2010, the Supreme Court described section 89 this way. It has "one adjudicatory process (arbitration) and four negotiatory (non adjudicatory) processes": conciliation, mediation, judicial settlement and Lok Adalat settlement.
How the concept grew in Indian law
- Traditional roots. Village panchayats and caste elders settled disputes long before modern courts.
- Arbitration statutes. The Arbitration Act 1940 governed arbitration until the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 replaced it. The 1996 Act follows the UNCITRAL Model Law and adds conciliation.
- Lok Adalats. The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 gave Lok Adalats statutory status. Their awards are deemed decrees (section 21). Permanent Lok Adalats for public utility services were added in 2002.
- Section 89 CPC. Inserted in 1999 and in force from 2002, it requires civil courts to consider ADR in every suit.
- Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015. Since 2018, a commercial suit not seeking urgent interim relief must first go to pre-institution mediation.
- The Mediation Act 2023. It gives mediation a full statutory scheme. Only some sections are in force, and the main provisions on mediation itself (sections 4 to 25) have not commenced.
ADR as part of the justice system
ADR does not replace the courts. In Salem Advocate Bar Association, Tamil Nadu v. Union of India, (2003) 1 SCC 49, the Supreme Court upheld section 89. It said cases filed in court "need not necessarily be decided by the court itself". If parties choose arbitration, the case goes "outside the stream of the court". But conciliation, mediation and judicial settlement do not take it outside the judicial system, and if they fail "the case will ultimately go to trial".
So ADR works alongside the courts. The courts refer cases to it, enforce its results as decrees, and correct its errors on limited grounds.
Features of the ADR system
- It is mostly voluntary and based on agreement.
- It is informal and flexible in procedure.
- It is confidential.
- It is quicker and cheaper than litigation.
- It aims at a settlement that preserves relationships.
- Its results are enforceable: awards and Lok Adalat awards as decrees, and conciliation settlements as awards.
Conclusion. The concept of ADR is that disputes can be resolved fairly outside the trial court. Its methods rest on consent and give the parties control. It rests on Articles 14, 21 and 39A, and on statutes from the 1996 Act to the Mediation Act 2023. As Salem Advocate Bar Association shows, it is now built into the civil justice system through section 89. It supplements the courts rather than replacing them.
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