The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in the year 2018, to provide inter-alia for Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mechanism under Section 12A. Under this mechanism, where a commercial dispute of specified value does not contemplate any urgent interim relief, the parties have to first exhaust the mandatory remedy of PIMS before approaching the Court. This is aimed at providing an opportunity to the parties to resolve the commercial disputes through mediation.

 The details of commercial disputes settled through pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, since the amendment in the year 2018, are as follows:

Period	No. of applications received for mediation	No. of application where mediation remains non-starter	No. of application where parties reached for settlement
July, 2018 to March, 2019	3680	1660	25
2019-20	18080	14470	167
2020-21	18364	14014	186
2021-22	32335	28441	368
2022-23	46412	41898	1449
2023-24	51019	47185	1139
2024-25	59568	52730	877
2025-26(upto Sep 25)	47218	30353	643

 

As on November 2025, the National Legal Service Authority has around 22,398 mediators across the country and in various States. Further, as per Section 3 (l) read with Section 42 of the Mediation Act, 2023, a mediation institute is a body or organization that inter-alia provides training, continuous education and certification of mediators.

The Commercial Courts (Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement) Rules, 2018, provides for the manner and procedure of pre-litigation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Further, in terms of Rule 3 of the Commercial Courts (Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement) Rules, 2018, the mediation process is to be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of application for pre-institution mediation unless the period is extended for further two months with the consent of the applicant and the opposite party. The legislative framework is in place to facilitate time bound conclusion of PIMS mechanism under Section 12A of the Act.

This information was given by MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

***

Samrat/

(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2220496) आगंतुक पटल : 178