Challenges to informal justice system

 CHALLENGES TO INFORMAL SYSTEM OF JUSTICE. 

Right to seek informal justice is a human right. This is wonderful deduction. Besides the state legal system given theft that we have different cultures and society, there has been been for time immemorial other system also operating as justice dispensers, question is whether this justice dispensed was in consonance with upholding human rights. 

In present times it is a efficient mode of redressal and delivery of justice which ensures equality of all the parties in dispute. They are responsible for dispute resolution, punishing and investigating the matters bought before them and aim to deliver speedy and fair decisions.  The lok adalats, Nyaya Panchayats, mediation, conciliation arbitration, negotiation are examples of informal modes of access to justice.  Informal justice system are based on fact that they are immediate mechanisms for justice and they are inexpensive and easy to approach. Almost 80 % of the population in developing countries approach informal systems of justice.  They  are easily accessible and reduce the burden of the formal justice systems. It is very economic friendly and not does require paying  expensive court fees, stamp fees and does not require technicalities of the court. Informal mode of justice system seeks to resolve dispute in an amicable manner so that no bitter feelings are left among the parties. 

Informal access to justice system help cut down judicial delays as well the huge amount of money spent upon the maintenance of the under trials in prison. They have been playing useful role in settling long pending  civil disputes among various litigants. The poor doom trodden people depend on the lok adalat system for getting some of their litigation case settled, freeing them from court botheration of appeals, re-appeals in higher courts.  Over 15 lakh of more than 33 lakh pending and pre-litigation cases were settled, and a whopping Rs 2,281 crore awarded on Saturday in National Lok Adalats held in 33 states and union territories by NALSA.   This is evidence that this informal justice system, the lok adalat haas beeb making significant contribution in imparting early accessible and fair verdicts that  has attracted so many litigants for its services.  The prestige of lok adalats have accelerated at a large rate and this ever-growing popularity  will continue to grow  more in the future. Sonu vs. M/s DTC  where ln this matter, since working days of the workman with the management was less than 240 days in the preceding year and the actual working-period was about 4-5 months, an effort was made for settling the matter thereby giving full and final settlement to the workman which workman ultimately agreed to after persuasion by the court as well as by the Authorized Representatives for both the parties and hence, the matter got settled.

The management made payment then and there. Statements of the party was recorded and the matter was deposed off. 

Another informal justice system that has gained a lot of popularity is the process of arbitration, conciliation and mediation as a form of alternate dispute resolution. This mechanism ensures the protection of right to privacy which is  highly regarded especially in personal family matters and  business world.  In the corporate world, time money and confidentiality  of one’s business holds high regard, when dispute arises that is in the need for legal intervention, one simply cannot afford to lose time in applying to a traditional court, attending the pro longed sessions, with  uncertainty of getting a verdict at a particular time. The cost of travelling to the court, paying the court fees and no guarantee of privacy has made the traditional justice system undesirable  to approach. 

The alternate dispute mechanisms help solve dispute in a manner that provides opportunity to the parties to cooperate with each other in an amicable manner and discuss measures that could help remove the hostility among them to restore and revive their relationships. This is usually not possible in litigant as the weightage of the  verdict usually ruptures their relationships, making them see no profitable reason to maintain a relationship. Another factor that makes athses informal justice systems so sought after are they ability to resolve disputes urgently. Traditional courts are more time and energy  consumptive and are infamous for delayed justice, hence making people our turn to easier ways to resolve their dispute. 

Hence concluding by stating that it is human nature to choose thee easier and less tiring way out of a situation, the informal justice system are characterised by, cost effectiveness, speedy justice , efficient and mutually consensus of the parties in dispute. The formal justice system on the other hand is costly, complicated, delaying and the verdicts are not decided on the basis of mutual understanding and consent, hence leading the people to prefer the  informal justice  systems .