A five-day intensive mediation training programme, sanctioned by the Supreme Court of India’s Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee, chaired by Vikram Nath, commenced at Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU), Visakhapatnam, on Monday.

Vice-Chancellor Surya Prakasa Rao, presiding over the inaugural session, traced the evolution of dispute resolution from traditional panchayat systems to modern courts, noting procedural rigidity and delays. He described law as a “dictate of reason” shaped by social and cultural contexts, and highlighted the growing importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), particularly mediation, under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.