Mediation Council of India Set Up to Regulate Disputes

NEW DELHI — The Mediation Council of India has been formally established by the central government, nearly three years after the law creating it was enacted. A gazette notification issued by the Department of Legal Affairs on 27 August 2026 announced the council under Section 31(1) of the Mediation Act, 2023, with its head office in Delhi.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 31 of the Mediation Act, 2023 (32 of 2023), the Central Government hereby establishes a Council for the purposes of the said Act, to be called as the Mediation Council of India, which shall have its head office at Delhi," the notification said. The Law Ministry notification of 27 August 2026 ended a three-year wait for the statutory regulator.

The move followed a nudge from the department-related Standing Committee on Law and Personnel, which said establishing the council was a key prerequisite for the full implementation of the Act. "The Committee, therefore, recommends that concerted efforts be made to fast-track the establishment of the MCI and finalise the necessary regulations within a defined timeline," the panel said in a report tabled in Parliament earlier this month.

Mediation Council of India to Regulate the Sector

The Mediation Council of India is to be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. Its composition under Section 32 provides for a Chairperson and two members appointed on the basis of knowledge and experience in mediation, alternative dispute resolution, law, public affairs or administration, along with the Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Legal Affairs and the Secretary in the Department of Expenditure as ex officio members, plus the Chief Executive Officer as member-secretary and a part-time member representing commerce and industry.

The council will register mediators and recognise mediation service providers and institutes that train and certify professionals across the dispute resolution landscape. The Mediation Council of India is also empowered to appoint a committee of experts for assistance in discharging its duties and functions. Legal observers say the Mediation Council of India could reduce the burden on courts if it is operationalised quickly. It is required to promote domestic and international mediation, develop India as a robust mediation centre, lay down guidelines for education, assessment and certification, hold training workshops, set standards of ethical conduct, and submit annual implementation reports to the central government.

According to the Law Ministry notification, the council will have its head office at Delhi. However, the central government has yet to appoint the seven-member council, and its operationalisation remains the critical next step. Attorney General R. Venkataramani had earlier attributed the delay in setting up the body to a shortage of human resources and challenges in finding suitable candidates for statutory bodies.

Mediation Council of India: A Landmark Moment for Justice

The establishment of the Mediation Council of India was celebrated at a high-profile event on 27 August at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu launched the Mediation Association of India and inaugurated the First National Mediation Conference, with the Chief Justice of India, the Law Minister, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General on stage. The Association is a non-statutory professional body; the statutory regulatory role belongs to the Council.

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urged that mediation be understood as "not a lesser form of justice but a wiser form of it," while Justice B.R. Gavai, then Chief Justice-designate, argued that mediation should become instinctive to India's dispute-resolution system and be taught as a skill in law schools.

Enacted in September 2023, the Mediation Act 2023 requires individuals to attempt mediation before approaching courts. Justice Sonia Gokani, speaking at the India Digital ADR Summit 2026, described the Mediation Act 2023 as a landmark development establishing a standalone legislative framework for domestic and international commercial mediation. The Act requires individuals to try resolving civil or commercial disputes through mediation before approaching any court or tribunal, with a statutory timeline of 120 days, extendable by 60. Agreements resulting from successful mediation are legally binding and enforceable like court judgments, and certain disputes — such as those involving criminal prosecution — are deemed inappropriate for mediation.

Between 2016 and early 2025, roughly 7.57 lakh cases were resolved through mediation in India, evidence of the mechanism's growing role. With the Mediation Council of India now notified, the government is betting that a dedicated regulator will carry the practice from the margins to the mainstream of Indian justice.