Centre for Dispute Resolution established at State Courts

A NEW centre for dispute resolution was launched at the State Courts on Wednesday.

Currently, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes offered by the Centre are mediation and neutral evaluation.

The centre will handle civil claims - such as motor accident and personal injury claims - Magistrate's Complaints filed for minor criminal offences as well as other relational disputes such as applications under the Protection from Harassment Act.

Before the centre was launched, all civil claims were referred to the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre for ADR.

At the launch, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said: "The Centre aims to adopt a holistic approach to dealing with each dispute. Many disputes will involve different aspects of the law, and might even cut across the civil/criminal divide. ADR offers an opportunity to bring relief to the parties at an early stage, regardless of the legal nature of the claim."