The Role of Lawyers in Mediation: What the Future Holds?

Dear Client, The Adoption Regulation, 2022 has come with considerable changes for the adoption of children in India, As per Adoption Regulations, 2022, All the Adoption Orders issued by the Courts are now replaced by Adoption Orders issued by the District Magistrate, as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021. Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) who wish to adopt a child legally, shall register himself or herself online at https://carings.wcd.gov.in. As per Regulation 3(a), the child's best interests shall be of paramount consideration while processing any adoption placement; (b) preference shall be given to placing the child in adoption with Indian citizens with due regard to the principle of placement of the child in their own socio-cultural environment, as far as possible; (c) all applications for adoptions shall be registered on the Designated Portal and confidentiality of the Authority shall maintain the same. A child eligible for adoption as per Regulation 4 is namely, (a) any orphan or abandoned or surrendered child, declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee; (b) a child of a relative defined under clause (52) of section 2; (c) child or children of the spouse from an earlier marriage, surrendered by the biological parents for adoption by the step-parent. Various recognized agencies and authorities have been assigned roles to facilitate the adoption process as per Guidelines Governing The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children), Act 2015 as amended in 2021. Child adoption can be done by either single PAPs or married couples with 2 years of stable marriage. Section 57(4) of the JJ Act, 2015 and Regulation 5(2)(c) mentions that a single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child. The entire adoption process is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (amended in 2021) and Adoption Regulations 2022. The database of Prospective Adoption Parents (PAPs) is maintained and managed through the designated CARINGS portal. There is no manual intervention at any stage in the process of adoption. The adoption process is carried out by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 (as amended 2021) and the Adoption Regulations 2022. The waiting period depends on the seniority of the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) and of legally free children on the basis of preference of Prospective Adoptive Parents as per age, gender, health status, state, etc. Regulation 49 of Adoption Regulations, 2022 states that the prospective adoptive parents shall bear the expenses for adoption and the Specialised Adoption Agencies shall adhere to the adoption fees and their utilization pattern as provided in the Schedule XV which shall be revised by the Authority from time to time. In continuation of the same, the Steering Committee of the Authority in its 36th meeting held on 02/01/2024 has decided that the adoption fees once submitted by the prospective adoptive parents to the Specialised Adoption Agencies, stand non-refundable. The legal profession requires a great deal of specialized knowledge. This is something that lawyers learn early on and is essential for understanding how your client thinks, feels and operates. You must understand the client’s perspective to argue effectively for their case. The essential basic skills that every lawyer should know to handle an adoption case include communication skills, Time Management Skills, Empathy, Patience: It is one of essential skills for lawyers and advocates to have, Strategic Thinking, These three skills are helpful in shaping your career. It’s important to remember that the path to success is not always straightforward, but it does involve developing a good set of tools and techniques for working effectively with people. It also helps if you have experience working as an advocate; this will give you greater insight into how advocacy law works and how best to serve those who need our services most. Hope, your query stands addressed.

Dear Client, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as the ‘PoSH Act,’ is an Indian law passed to make offices safer for women by halting, restricting, and resolving sexual misconduct against them in the organization. The Ministry of Women and Child Development made the law effective throughout India on December 9, 2013, characterizing sexual harassment and establishing the processes for lodging a lawsuit and conducting an investigation, as well as the measures to be taken. According to Section 2(n) of the Act, sexual harassment includes the following unwelcome acts: Sexual advances and physical contact, A request or demand for sexual favours., Making sexually charged remarks. Displaying pornography or any other unwanted sexual physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct. The accusation must be filed “within 3 months from the date of the episode,” to the IIC (Internal Inquiry Committee) according to the Act. The IIC has two options: file a police report or file charges that must be accomplished within ninety days. In aspects of summoning and inquiring individuals under pledge, as well as trying to order the discovery and development of records, the IIC has civil-court-like power and authority. Within ten days of the inspection’s execution, the ICC must give the firm a paper detailing its findings. The report is available to both stakeholders. According to the legislation, the legitimacy of the lady, the accused, and any eyewitnesses, as well as any relevant information on the investigation, proposal, and action taken, is not to be publicly disclosed. When the investigation is finished, the IIC must provide the employer with a report on its findings within 10 days. Both parties are also given access to the report. If the allegations of sexual harassment are proven, the IIC advises the employer to take action “in accordance with the provisions of the company’s service rules.” Compensation is determined by five factors: the woman’s suffering and emotional distress; her loss of career opportunity; her medical expenses; the respondent’s income and financial status; and the feasibility of such payment. Following the recommendations, the aggrieved woman or respondent has 90 days to file an appeal in court. Section 14 of the Act addresses the penalties for filing a false or malicious complaint and providing false evidence. In this case, the IIC “may recommend” to the employer that action be taken against the woman or the person who filed the complaint “in accordance with the provisions of the service rules.” In the given situation, you may bring the matter to the notice of the District Magistrate or ADM who is designated as the District Officer of the Local Complaints Committee u/s.5 of the Act for redressal of your grievance. A forced resignation can be termed an illegal termination if the employee proves her complaint of sexual harassment and toxic working environment with cogent evidence that forced her to tender resignation. Termination or dismissal other than a disciplinary action for proven misconduct amounts to illegal termination/retrenchment and is defined as an industrial dispute under Section 2A of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 which also violated the mandatory provision of Sec.25F and 25N of the Act that prescribed certain conditions to comply with by the employer before termination/retrenchment of a workman/employee from the employment. In that scenario, the terminated employee/workman can raise an industrial dispute before the concerned Labour Commissioner for redressal of the complaint failing which she can approach directly before the Industrial Tribunal/Labor Court concerned for adjudication provided you are not holding the position of Manager/Supervisor but a workman as defined u/s.2(s) of the Industrial Dispute Act. Otherwise, in case you are holding the position of Manager/Administrative Officer in the Company, you have to file a civil suit before the Civil Court seeking appropriate relief in the matter. In case you need our expert service, feel free to contact our legal team or avail of our paid consultation service to navigate the issue in the right way.

Yes mediation is a legal way of settlement if disputes

Hi, Thanks for detailing. Request your lawyer to make a detailed submission to get the stay. We may not in a strong position to decide the stay before the court grants the same.

Dear Client, 1. If the Ex Partee person is not coming make a record from the BMC Bangalore Mediation Centre. 2. Try to Make the case regularly in the mediation centres, tell the mediation centre about this issue and they usually make an Entry and Exit of Mediation Process in their Diary. 3. Try to Arrange for minimum 3 to 5 Case hearing regularly i know it would cost. 4. Then Put a Case regarding the non-appearance before the Mediation Centre in Bangalore and Court usually give Judgement against the Ex Parte if he is not present in the Court Initially Interim Award would be given and then Final award would be given against him. This would be working.