Fourth Schedule of the Mediation Act 2023

Section 59 - Amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

The Fourth Schedule of the Mediation Act, 2023 gives effect to Section 59 of the Act. Section 59 provides that the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act 5 of 1908) shall be amended in the manner specified in this Schedule. The principal change is the substitution of Section 89 CPC, which governs settlement of disputes outside the Court.

Meaning of Section 89 CPC: Where a court considers that a dispute may be settled and that elements of settlement acceptable to the parties exist, the provision enables the court to use specified alternative dispute-resolution routes, including arbitration, mediation, Lok Adalat and judicial settlement by compromise.

Official text of the Fourth Schedule

THE FOURTH SCHEDULE

(See section 59)

In the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908),-

(i) under Part V, under the heading SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS, the sub-heading "ARBITRATION" shall be omitted;

(ii) for section 89, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-

"89. Settlement of disputes outside the Court.- Where it appears to the Court that the dispute between the parties may be settled and there exists elements of settlement which may be acceptable to the parties, the Court may-

(a) refer the dispute to arbitration, and thereafter, the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) shall apply as if the proceedings for arbitration were referred for settlement under the provisions of that Act; or

(b) refer the parties to mediation, to the court-annexed mediation centre or any other mediation service provider or any mediator, as per the option of the parties, and thereafter the provisions of the Mediation Act, 2023 shall apply as if the proceedings for mediation were referred for settlement under the provisions of that Act; or

(c) refer the dispute to Lok Adalat, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 20 of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987) and thereafter, all other provisions of that Act shall apply in respect of the dispute;

(d) effect compromise between the parties and shall follow such procedure as deemed fit for judicial settlement.".

What the amendment does

The Fourth Schedule expressly links court-referred mediation under Section 89 CPC with the framework of the Mediation Act, 2023. Under clause (b), a court may refer parties to a court-annexed mediation centre, another mediation service provider or a mediator, according to the option of the parties. Once referred, the Mediation Act, 2023 applies to the mediation as provided by the substituted Section 89.

Clause (a) preserves referral to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Clause (c) permits referral to Lok Adalat in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Clause (d) permits the court to effect a compromise between the parties and follow an appropriate procedure for judicial settlement.

Section 59 of the Mediation Act 2023

Section 59 is titled "Amendment of Act 5 of 1908". It provides that the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 shall be amended in the manner specified in the Fourth Schedule. Accordingly, the Fourth Schedule must be read with Section 59 and the substituted Section 89 CPC.

For authoritative statutory text and commencement details, refer to the official Gazette of India and India Code resources linked on this page.