The Mediation Act 2023, which received Presidential assent on 14 September 2023, has now established its enforcement infrastructure fully. The Mediation Council of India — the statutory body responsible for accrediting mediators, recognising mediation service providers, and maintaining the mediation registry — became operational in late 2025. With the registration mechanism for Mediated Settlement Agreements (MSAs) now functional, companies and individuals that settle disputes through mediation can have their agreements enforced as court decrees without the delays and costs of fresh civil litigation. This is a structural improvement in India's dispute resolution ecosystem with direct relevance to commercial disputes in Delhi NCR.
The Statutory Framework
The Mediation Act 2023 applies to commercial disputes, civil disputes, and disputes that may be referred to mediation under any other law for the time being in force. It does not apply to disputes involving the Central Government, State Governments, or public sector undertakings — unless the parties agree otherwise — and does not cover matrimonial disputes except maintenance and custody matters. For commercial disputes, the Act provides a statutory pathway that supplements — but does not displace — the contractual mediation clauses already common in Indian commercial contracts.
Section 27 of the Act provides that a Mediated Settlement Agreement, signed by the parties and their counsel (where represented), may be registered with the Mediation Council of India or with a court-annexed mediation centre. Once registered, the MSA is final and binding, and may be enforced as if it were a decree of the court. Registration operates as conclusive proof of the settlement's validity, subject only to a challenge on grounds of fraud, corruption, impersonation, or fundamental mistake — a narrow list that cannot be expanded by creative pleading.
Online and Pre-Litigation Mediation
The Act introduces statutory recognition for online mediation — mediation conducted through video conferencing or other electronic means — and pre-litigation mediation. Courts may refer a dispute to pre-litigation mediation before a suit is filed; parties may also self-refer. Pre-litigation mediation through the Act's framework is distinct from the pre-litigation mediation already mandated by the Commercial Courts Act 2015 for suits under the commercial court regime, though the two processes can be aligned by agreement. Settlement through pre-litigation mediation under the 2023 Act produces an enforceable MSA without a suit ever being filed — a genuine cost and time saving for commercial counterparties with ongoing business relationships.
Mediator Accreditation and Service Providers
The Mediation Council of India has issued accreditation standards for individual mediators and recognition standards for mediation service providers (MSPs). To be accredited, a mediator must complete a training programme of not less than 40 hours from a Council-recognised training institution and pass a competency assessment. Existing mediators with substantial practice experience may obtain accreditation through a recognition of prior learning pathway. The Council has recognised MSPs in Delhi — including DIAC (Delhi International Arbitration Centre), FICCI's arbitration and conciliation tribunal, and several bar association-affiliated centres — as authorised venues for mediation proceedings under the Act.
Parties to a mediation conducted by an unaccredited mediator or at an unrecognised MSP cannot register their settlement agreement under the Act and therefore cannot take advantage of the decree-equivalent enforcement mechanism. Contracts that specify mediation as a dispute resolution step should be reviewed to confirm the chosen mediators and centres meet the Act's accreditation and recognition standards.
Interaction with Existing Dispute Resolution Clauses
Many commercial contracts in Delhi NCR — particularly in the real estate, construction, and services sectors — contain tiered dispute resolution clauses that require negotiation, followed by mediation, followed by arbitration. The Mediation Act 2023 does not require parties to use its framework; mediation under contractual clauses that specify a different institutional process is unaffected. However, parties that wish to have the benefit of MSA enforceability as a court decree must conduct their mediation under the Act's framework and register the outcome. Parties using SIAC, ICC, or other international institutional mediation rules will need to separately assess whether the MSA registration mechanism is available to them.
Implications for Commercial Litigation Strategy
For companies managing a portfolio of commercial disputes — creditor-debtor collections, contract breach claims, IP licensing disputes — the Mediation Act 2023 creates a faster and cheaper route to enforceable resolution for disputes where the parties have a continuing interest in relationship preservation or where the quantum is below the economic threshold for full arbitration proceedings. Delhi NCR businesses should instruct their legal teams to assess mediation eligibility at the outset of each commercial dispute, not as an afterthought when litigation has already commenced.
Action Items for Delhi NCR Businesses
- Review standard commercial contracts to ensure dispute resolution clauses reference the Mediation Act 2023 framework for disputes where MSA enforceability is desired.
- Confirm that named mediators and mediation centres in existing contracts meet the Mediation Council's accreditation and recognition standards.
- Train commercial and legal teams on the pre-litigation mediation pathway as a default first step for commercial disputes before filing.
- For disputes currently in litigation where settlement is being negotiated, consider transferring the negotiation to a Mediation Act-registered mediator to obtain an enforceable MSA.
- Update corporate dispute resolution policies to incorporate the Mediation Act framework and the MSA registration process.