1st Time In Country: National Law University Odisha To Start Mediation Cell

Cuttack: The National Law University Odisha (NLUO) at Cuttack will start ‘Mediation Cell’ which will be first of its kind in the country.

According to an NLUO release, its Centre for Mediation and Negotiation (CMN), Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and Chancellor, NLUO Dr Justice S Muralidhar will inaugurate the Mediation Cell in the presence of Prof Ved Kumari, Vice-Chancellor and Prof Yogesh Pratap Singh, Registrar of the university on August 15.

The NLUO Mediation Cell is the first institutional-run mediation cell in the country to provide live-mediation services (both private and court-referred mediation).

With this initiative, the law university aims at achieving the constitutional goal of access to justice and free legal aid. Various legal disputes including family, matrimonial, property, land and consumer disputes will be resolved through mediation with the help of faculties-cum-trained mediators. NLUO is looking forward to collaborate with other centres and organisations in this regard.

The CMN has acknowledged the efforts of the Legal Aid Society and the Pro-Bono Club for organising CMN’s first joint outreach drive to create awareness about the resolution of disputes through mediation among the masses. At the beginning, the mediation cell will focus on people from nearby places and will gradually extend to the whole state and provide free mediation services both physically and virtually through Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).

With the establishment of NLUO Mediation Cell, the premier law university will move close to achieve the SDG 16 under UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030, i.e., Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, the releases said.