Adjudix Lok Adalat: One Day for Confidential Proposals

Parties in a dispute often know the number they would accept — but neither will say it first, for fear of looking weak. The result is a standoff that can last for months. The Adjudix Lok Adalat is designed to break that standoff, in a single day.

The idea

At any point during an ADR proceeding at Adjudix — an arbitration, a mediation, or a hybrid process — the parties may opt for an Adjudix Lok Adalat day. For that single day, a new ADR professional, who has had no role in the proceeding so far, is engaged as a conciliator. Each party submits its settlement proposal to the conciliator in confidence. The conciliator sees both proposals; neither party sees the other's.

Working from what each side has privately put forward, the conciliator looks for the space where the two positions meet, and helps the parties to an out-of-the-box settlement that neither would have proposed in open session.

Why secrecy matters

Confidentiality is the whole point. Because nothing a party proposes is disclosed to the other side, or to the arbitrator or mediator in the main proceeding, a party can make a realistic offer without weakening its position if the day does not produce a settlement. If it does not, the main proceeding simply continues as before.

How it relates to the statutory Lok Adalat

Statutory Lok Adalats are organised by the Legal Services Authorities under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and their awards are deemed decrees of a civil court. The Adjudix Lok Adalat is not a statutory Lok Adalat. It borrows the spirit of the institution — a single sitting, a conciliatory approach, and a focus on settlement — and applies it within a private ADR proceeding. A settlement reached on the day is recorded as a settlement agreement under the conciliation provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, or, within an arbitration, as an award on agreed terms, so it carries full legal force.

How the day runs

The parties agree on a date and the Secretariat appoints the conciliator, who discloses any conflict and signs a confidentiality undertaking. Each party submits a written settlement proposal in a sealed submission before the day begins, with any short note it wishes the conciliator to read. On the day, the conciliator meets each party privately, explores the reasoning behind its proposal, and may meet the parties together when it would help.

Where the proposals overlap — or come close — the conciliator helps the parties settle on terms. Where they are far apart, the conciliator may put forward a proposal of their own, as a conciliator is entitled to do. By the end of the day, the parties either sign a settlement or return to the main proceeding, with nothing disclosed.

What is protected

Proposals made to the conciliator, the views the conciliator expresses, and any admissions made on the day cannot be relied on in the main proceeding or in any later proceeding. The conciliator cannot act as an arbitrator, representative, or witness in the same dispute. These protections reflect the confidentiality and inadmissibility provisions of the conciliation chapter of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

When to use it

• When the parties are close to settlement but neither will move first.
• After pleadings, when each side understands the strengths and weaknesses of its case.
• Before an expensive phase of the proceeding — such as expert evidence or long hearings.