Formulation of National Litigation Policy (NLP)
Recently, the National Litigation Policy (NLP) is being formulated.
It is well known that an National Litigation Policy (NLP) has been under consideration for a long time to lay down guidelines to prevent, control and reduce litigation.
Earlier in the year 2010 a NLP was submitted by the then Law Minister with the objective that the Government should not indulge in fruitless litigation, especially where there is no high/large claim against the Government.
Significance:
- The objective of this policy is to convert the government into an efficient and responsible litigant.
- It is well known that the governments in the states and at the center are involved as litigants in 46% of the total 3.14 crore cases in the district courts to the Supreme Court.
- This policy will save valuable time of the Court by enabling it to reduce the average period of pendency of a case in the Court from 15 years to 3 years.
Steps taken to reduce litigation:
- Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS): A web-platform designed for the purpose of monitoring litigation related to the Union of India.
- Administrative Mechanism for Resolution of Disputes (AMRD): For resolution of inter-ministerial/departmental disputes.
- The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in the year 2018-19 to provide for the Pre-Institution Arbitration and Settlement (PIMS) Mechanism.
- Administrative Mechanism (AMRCD) for resolution of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) disputes.
Source – The Hindu
