In dispute, think of arbitration, not litigation
As opposed to litigation, arbitration provides the scope to resolve disputes outside of the court system, which is often both time and cost-effective
Belal and Harun are two brothers. Their father divided his entire property between them before his death. Although the house and agricultural land were divided equally, the pond, courtyard, graveyard, and bamboo grove were left behind as shared property, or Ejmali (joint property).
Because of this, quarrels often broke out between Belal and Harun's wives, sometimes over the fish in the pond, the drying of clothes in the yard or the reeds of the bamboo grove. This continued for a while and they realised that there would not be any peace until this Ejmali property was divided, and so the two brothers began the process.
When the Ejmali property could not be broken up through an understanding, the two brothers approached the court, and the Batwara filed a case.
The Batwara case, however, was not settled quickly. Days passed, but the dispute was far from being resolved. Trouble between the two families exacerbated. Then, frivolous cases, including grievous hurt and attempt to murder, were filed.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Belal and Harun are now in the twilight of their lives, but the case is far from over. There are new parties in the case, their children, and a large part of the income from both families are spent at the court.
The story of Belal and Harun is fairly common in our country. The bulk of the cases sitting with our courts around the country actually stem from such disputes over property. However, such disputes do not necessarily have to end up in court everytime. In many cases, arbitration is more useful than lawsuits to settle disputes like this.
Arbitration is the process of resolving disputes between two parties outside the court system. On the other hand, litigation is the process of dispute resolution through the court system. Here are some of the reasons why arbitration may be a better option than litigation.
Disputes are resolved faster through arbitration than litigation
Arbitration proceedings are generally quicker than litigation. This is because arbitration does not have to follow the same rules and procedures as court litigation, which is almost always time-consuming.
Moreover, just as there are weaknesses in the rules of procedure behind the long process of litigation in the courts, there are weaknesses of the lawyers as well. Justices are often heard saying that cases are prolonged due to the intentional or unintentional mistakes of lawyers.
As trial dates get pushed back, litigants need to continue to pay the lawyer's fees. There is clearly incentive for a lawyer to drag the case. On the other hand, experienced persons are appointed as arbitrators, whose job is to settle the dispute without wasting too much time.
Arbitration costs are limited compared to litigation
Arbitration is generally less expensive than litigation. This is because the arbitration process is usually less formal and does not require as much legal representation.
A man or woman cannot represent themselves in a litigation. You have to appoint a lawyer as your representative to present arguments and evidence to the court about the dispute. But, a person can argue his own case in a domestic or local government arbitration panel.
Arbitration is more confidential than litigation
Arbitration proceedings are generally confined to private premises so that the details of the dispute are not made public. Arbitration can be beneficial for those who wish to keep their disputes out of the public eye. Otherwise, the entire matter of the dispute becomes public once the dispute is resolved through the courts, as court judgments become official documents.
Arbitration is more flexible than litigation
When a case or litigation is brought to court, the dispute is no longer confined to the plaintiff-defendant, it also involves the lawyers of both sides, which means more competition about who will win between the two sides, than justice. Both sides give the maximum effort to win the case.
On the other hand, arbitration allows more flexibility because everyone tries to settle the dispute by sitting together and making concessions to each other, with flexibility. Hence, flexibility is shown in an arbitration setting to a greater extent than in traditional proceedings.
Arbitration is better than litigation
In a case or trial, one party is declared victorious and another party guilty at the end of the trial. But, there is no guidance given to the two parties to reconcile or forget the conflict and get back together again. Although there is an instruction not to create any new conflict in the future, there is no direction to maintain good relations in the future.
Moreover, since one party is accused and another party is declared innocent in a case or litigation, there is no opportunity for mutual sympathy to develop between the two.
On the other hand, since both parties have to make more or fewer concessions in arbitration, some degree of sympathy is developed between both parties, which can become a means of maintaining good relations in the future, and many examples of such have been observed in practice.
However, cases where one party sues the other and gets the court verdict, and subsequently restores their relationship, are very rare.
So, before filing a lawsuit against your sibling or relative, or neighbour in court, think about whether the dispute can be settled through arbitration. Now when a civil suit is filed, it is subject to mandatory mediation.
Any dispute can be settled through arbitration, which not only improves interpersonal relations, but also provides speedy justice and saves court time.
Chowdhury Tanbir Ahamed Siddique completed LLB, and LLM from Northern University Bangladesh and is now a full-time writer for various newspapers.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
