The Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, under the aegis of India’s BRICS Chairship, is hosting the BRICS Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on 19–20 May 2026, followed by the BRICS Justice Ministers’ Meeting (JMM) on 21–22 May 2026 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. India will chair BRICS Justice Ministers’ Meeting this year.

The SOM will bring together senior officials from BRICS member States—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to deliberate on priority ADR‑related issues, including institutional mediation, arbitration reforms, and the role of ADR in commercial and public‑sector disputes. The discussions will also examine the implementation of ADR‑centric reforms, which have been highlighted in BRICS forums as model interventions for reducing case backlogs and enhancing timely, cost‑effective dispute resolution.

The JMM will provide a ministerial platform for BRICS Ministers of Justice to adopt a Joint Statement on ADR‑led Cooperation in the BRICS Framework, setting out concrete commitments to share best practices, strengthen institutional capacity, and explore collaborative ADR‑related initiatives such as training programmes, model rules, and digital dispute‑resolution platforms. The meetings underscore India’s leadership in promoting ADR as a core component of modern legal‑system reform and as a vital tool for delivering accessible, speedy and affordable justice to citizens.

The choice of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, as the venue reflects the city’s emergence as a hub for major international legal and multilateral events under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship.

Key objectives and expected outcomes:

The BRICS Justice Ministers will promote dialogue and cooperation on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), particularly mediation and arbitration, by facilitating exchange of best practices, policy approaches, and institutional experiences; strengthening professional capacity and institutional ecosystems through training, professional exchanges, joint workshops, and knowledge sharing platforms for mediators, arbitrators, judges, government legal officers, and legal professionals; enhancing court referred and pre litigation mediation; fostering institutional cooperation among arbitration centres, mediation institutions, and legal training bodies; leveraging digital technologies to improve accessibility, efficiency, supporting cooperation on cross border commercial disputes; advancing legal research and comparative study of BRICS jurisprudence to harmonise laws on trade, and environment; and promoting training for government legal officers.

The meetings will include plenary sessions, and bilateral exchanges aimed at concrete cooperation initiatives, capacity‑building projects, and institutional linkages. Outcomes will be consolidated in a Declaration of the Justice Ministers of the BRICS Countries on “Strengthening Alternative Dispute Resolution through Capacity Building in Mediation and Arbitration”.

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Samrat

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