Amicable settlement between the disputed parties in a criminal matter: an appraisal of mediation as a method of alternative dispute resolution with special reference to Sri Lanka

Abstract

The system of victim-offender mediation presently in force in Sri Lanka provides the parties to bring their dispute to amicable settlement. Mediation operates as an alternative form of dispute resolution parallel to the formal adjudicatory system. Today, mediation is governed by the Mediation Boards Act No. 72 of 1988 which contains some new theories and practices. However, the history of Sri Lanka provides evidence of the existence of mediation as a form of dispute resolution even in criminal matters. Therefore, a question arises whether the amicable settlement of criminal disputes and removal of the causes of the dispute through restoring the relationship of the disputed parties is a new concept. Further, there are some concerns and issues relating to the present Act as to whether it has successfully achieved the idea of amicable settlement and restoring the relationship of the disputants in all criminal cases. This paper looks at mediation as a form of an additional dispute settlement and the issues associated with the process of mediation in Sri Lanka in jurisprudential point of view in order to test the following hypothesis; the present law relating to mediation is deviating from the original idea of amicable settlement of a criminal matter. Relevant information from books, treaties, statues, journal articles and websites are analysed as secondary sources and information and statistics gathered by relevant authorities are used as primary sources to complete the analysis.