NEC India General Counsel Calls for Greater Use of Mediation in Commercial Disputes

Amar Sundram, General Counsel, Senior Vice President (Legal) and Chief Compliance Officer of NEC Corporation India, has called for a greater role for mediation in commercial dispute resolution, particularly in reducing the number of disputes that proceed to litigation or arbitration. Speaking to ETLegalWorld on the sidelines of the 5th edition of the ETLegalWorld Commercial Dispute Conclave 2026, Sundram also emphasised the need for greater finality in commercial disputes and simpler procedures, cautioning that excessive procedural complexity in arbitration, negotiation and mediation could undermine the objective of speedy dispute resolution.

Sundram suggested that experienced General Counsels, particularly senior GCs, could play a larger role as mediators because of their understanding of both legal principles and commercial operations. He proposed that the government consider recognising suitably experienced GCs as “quality mediators” or “panel mediators”, including through possible statutory recognition as qualified mediators.

According to Sundram, the experience of senior in-house counsel in dealing with commercial transactions, business relationships and disputes could enable them to identify opportunities for resolving differences before they escalate into court proceedings or arbitration.

The discussion also addressed the changing nature of commercial disputes as businesses increasingly rely on artificial intelligence, data and technology. Sundram said disputes involving AI, data, intellectual property, copyright, patents, cybersecurity and cybercrime are likely to become increasingly significant areas of commercial conflict. He questioned whether there are presently sufficient numbers of qualified mediators and arbitrators with the specialist knowledge required to deal with such disputes.

He therefore called for the development of a pool of mediators and arbitrators equipped to handle emerging technology-related disputes, alongside simpler and more effective dispute-resolution mechanisms.

The observations highlight two developing issues for commercial mediation: the potential role of experienced in-house counsel as mediators, and the growing need for mediators with specialised knowledge of technology-intensive disputes. As commercial conflicts become more technically complex, developing both mediation capacity and subject-matter expertise may become increasingly important if mediation is to play a meaningful role before disputes escalate into arbitration or litigation.