MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
(Department of Legal Affairs)
ORDER
New Delhi, the 13th October, 2023
S.O. 4506(E).—Whereas, the Mediation Act, 2023 (32 of 2023) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) received the assent of the President on the 14th September, 2023;
And, whereas, section 32 of the said Act provides for the composition of the Mediation Council of India;
And, whereas, clause (o) of section 3 of the said Act defines the term “Member” which means a Full-Time or Part-Time Member of the Council and includes the Chairperson;
And, whereas, sub-section (3) of section 32 of the said Act provides for prescribing rules in respect of salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of Members;
And, whereas, sub-section (4) of section 32 and clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 51 of the said Act provides for prescribing rules in respect of travelling and other allowances payable to the Member;
And, whereas, rules being made under sub-section (4) of section 32 of the said Act shall be applicable only to the Part-Time Members and allowances in respect of the Full-Time Members shall be covered under the rules being made under sub-section (3) of section 32 of the said Act;
And, whereas, it may cause confusion and difficulty, in notifying the rules for the travelling and other allowances payable to Part-Time Member of the Mediation Council of India under sub-section (4) of section 32 of the said Act unless the word “Member” is substituted with the words “Part-Time Member”;
And, whereas, the Tenth Schedule to the said Act provides for amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019);
And, whereas, section 37 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019) provides that District Commission or the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, shall either on an application by the parties may refer the dispute for settlement by mediation under the Mediation Act, 2023 (32 of 2023);
And, whereas, section 7 of the Mediation Act, 2023 (32 of 2023) provides for power of the court or tribunal to refer the parties to mediation and section 37 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019), as amended through the Tenth Schedule of the Mediation Act, 2023 (32 of 2023) is not in consonance with section 7 of the said Act and the words “shall either on an application by the parties” needs to be replaced with the word “may” to remove the difficulty in implementing the said provision.
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 54 of the Mediation Act, 2023, the Central Government hereby makes the following Order to remove the above said difficulties, namely:—
1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This order may be called the Mediation (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2023.
(2) It shall come into force with effect from the 13th day of October, 2023.
2. In the Mediation Act, 2023,—
(a) in section 32, in sub-section (4), for the word “Member”, the words “Part-Time Member” shall be substituted;
(b) in section 51, in sub-section (2), in clause (b), for the word “Member”, the words “Part-Time Member” shall be substituted;
(c) n the Tenth Schedule, relating to amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, in section 37, for the words “shall either on an application by the parties”, the word “may” shall be substituted.
[F. No. A-60011/45/2023-ADR]
DR. RAJIV MANI, Addl. Secy
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