Role of the Alternative Dispute Resolution in Access to Justice for the Specially-Abled Community in India

Abstract

Specially-abled persons are a disadvantaged group in society with their disabilities, and they face discrimination even in access to justice. Article 14 of the Constitution of India and Section 3 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, provide that specially-abled persons have the right to equality with others in society. But they face challenges in access to justice through the traditional or formal court system. This study delves into the role of the Alternative Dispute Resolution in access to justice, especially to specially-abled persons. This study aims to explore the challenges faced by specially-abled persons in accessing justice through the doctrinal approach. It aims to reveal the challenges faced by specially- abled persons in accessing the traditional courts and the inefficiency of the traditional courts in providing access to justice to the specially-abled community, who are a disadvantaged group of society due to their disabilities. It aims to investigate existing articles of scholars, reports and policies of the government, statutory instruments, and judicial precedents of the Supreme Court and High Courts, which give an understanding of what challenges prevail in accessing formal courts for specially-abled * Sneha Kumari is an LL.M. student at the School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The author may be reached at advsnehakri@gmail.com. ** Pawan Kumar is an LL.M. student at the School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The co-author may be reached at advpk.0009@gmail.com. Volume 3 – Issue 1 Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Legal Research ISSN: 2582-9947 persons and how the ADR mechanisms can help the specially-abled community in achieving access to justice. This study relies on secondary data that exist, and these can help to explore gaps in the policy implementation and challenges for specially-abled communities in accessing justice. This study can help the legislature and policymakers in making decisions to bring new policies and laws for specially-abled persons so that they can access justice outside the formal court, i.e., through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).