New Delhi, May 2016: Delhi-NCR based O. P. Jindal Global University has entered into an agreement of cooperation with US-based Pepperdine University under which the Law Schools of the two institutions will facilitate student and faculty exchange programs and promote bilateral cooperation on research.
The agreement was formally inked by Prof (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor O.P. Jindal Global University and Prof. Peter Robinson, Managing Director of Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution on behalf of the respective institutions.
Speaking on the occasion Prof. C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor O. P. Jindal Global University said that the two institutions will also promote opportunities for collaborative research projects and bilateral conferences on issues of global relevance.
Emphasizing the need for forging such collaborations, Prof. Kumar, noted “Institutional agreements are very useful in providing students and faculty international exposure and learning experience much beyond their comfort zone. They help expand their horizons and open new avenues of learning. Our agreement with the Pepperdine University is aimed at opening new possibilities for student and faculty exchange between the two institutions as well as efforts to collaborate on research in a mutually beneficial way.”
The two institutions also collaborated to host an international conference in the national capital on ‘Dispute Resolution in the Globalized World: Contemporary Issues and Challenges’, leading experts and academics in the field of law discussed the importance of making dispute resolution and mediation an intrinsic part of law education and practice in India as a way to reduce the huge case pendency in Indian courts.
Keynote speaker Professor Peter Robinson, Managing Director, Pepperdine University, School of Law, USA underscored the need for promoting the practice of mediation in Indian Law and its practice. “It is important to include the concept of mediation in law practice which can offer the disputing sides a chance at dispute resolution before actual case hearing. Law institutions should pay greater emphasis on training personnel for mediation and resolution. This will develop a support system to judiciary and exponential delays can be reduced,” he said.
Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr) C Raj Kumar who is also the Dean of the Jindal Global Law School highlighted the significance of arbitration and mediation and underlining the importance of institutions in resolving disputes both on national and international levels. He emphasized that in a globalized and highly inter-connected world as more entities interact and work together, the numbers of disputes are also expected to rise and hence the need for evolving better mechanisms to resolve them.
The conference was organized by the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR), Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) and Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University, School of Law, USA and was attended by over 10 academics and law experts from both institutions and beyond.
Prof Sukhsimranjit Singh, Associate Director, Pepperdine University School of law, USA, noted that greater recourse to mediation practices has a potential to change the way we look at the judicial system, and can be crucial in clearing the huge backlog of cases in the Indian judicial system.
Prof S. Ramaswamy, Founder of Medha Advisors said presently in India judges are not trained to work as arbitrators and dispute resolution experts. He said through a continuous process of training, promoting mediation mechanisms and popularizing arbitrations through conferences and symposiums, the system can be modernized over time. While Assistant Professor of JGLS, Professor Subramanya Sirish Tamvada pointed out that while the current ratio of judges to cases stood at 15 judges for 10 lakh cases, it needed to be increased to at least 46 for better results and backlog reduction.
The MoU entails regular students and faculty exchange programs, internship programs for students, cooperation on books, research and reference materials as well as a dual degree program.
In pursuit of its vision to promote a global perspective through a global faculty, global courses, curriculum and research, JGU has fostered collaborations with over 155 universities and institutions in 36 countries across the world.
These collaborative ventures help implement 10 different forms of partnerships: Faculty Exchange Programs, Student Exchange Programs, Joint Teaching, Joint Research, Joint Conferences, Joint Publications, Dual Degree Programs, Joint Executive Education Programs, Summer and Winter Schools and Study Abroad Programs.
