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Section 69 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: Communication Between Conciliator and Parties

Section 69 regulates how a conciliator may communicate with the parties during conciliation proceedings. It expressly permits oral or written communication, joint or separate meetings, and provides a rule for deciding the place of meetings where the parties have not already agreed on one.

Current legal status: Section 69 remains part of the operative conciliation framework in Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Mediation Act, 2023 contains provisions intended to substitute Sections 61 to 81 of the 1996 Act, but the relevant substitution provision in Section 61 of the Mediation Act has not yet been brought into force.

Text of Section 69

69. Communication between conciliator and parties.

(1) The conciliator may invite the parties to meet him or may communicate with them orally or in writing. He may meet or communicate with the parties together or with each of them separately.

(2) Unless the parties have agreed upon the place where meetings with the conciliator are to be held, such place shall be determined by the conciliator, after consultation with the parties, having regard to the circumstances of the conciliation proceedings.

Meaning and Scope of Section 69

Section 69 gives the conciliator procedural flexibility in communicating with the parties. The provision recognizes that conciliation is a consensual and settlement-oriented process and that effective communication may require both joint discussions and separate interaction with each party.

Section 69(1): Oral, Written, Joint and Separate Communication

Sub-section (1) permits the conciliator to invite the parties to meetings or to communicate with them orally or in writing. It also expressly allows the conciliator to communicate with the parties together or separately.

The power to communicate separately with each party is an important feature of conciliation. It enables the conciliator to understand the parties' positions, concerns and possible settlement options without requiring every interaction to take place in a joint session.

The provision itself does not prescribe a mandatory form of communication. Depending on the circumstances, communications may include meetings, written correspondence or other agreed modes consistent with the conciliation process.

Section 69(2): Place of Meetings

Sub-section (2) gives priority to party autonomy. If the parties have already agreed upon the place where meetings with the conciliator are to be held, their agreement governs.

If there is no such agreement, the conciliator may determine the place after consulting the parties and considering the circumstances of the proceedings. This allows practical factors such as convenience, accessibility and the requirements of the particular dispute to be taken into account.

Key Features of Section 69

Relationship With Nearby Conciliation Provisions

Section 69 should be read with the surrounding provisions in Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Section 67 deals with the role of the conciliator, while Section 68 concerns administrative assistance. Section 70 addresses disclosure of factual information received from a party, subject to confidentiality where information is given on a specific confidential basis.

Mediation Act, 2023 and Section 69

The Mediation Act, 2023 provides in its Sixth Schedule, read with Section 61 of that Act, for substitution of Sections 61 to 81 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. However, the Central Government's commencement notification dated 9 October 2023 brought only specified provisions of the Mediation Act into force and did not bring Section 61 into force.

Accordingly, until the substitution provision is commenced, Section 69 continues to be relevant to conciliation proceedings under Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. This page should therefore be read together with any later commencement notification issued under the Mediation Act, 2023.

Related Sections of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act

Section 61 - Application and scope
Section 62 - Commencement of conciliation proceedings
Section 63 - Number of conciliators
Section 64 - Appointment of conciliators
Section 65 - Submission of statements to conciliator
Section 66 - Conciliator not bound by certain enactments
Section 67 - Role of conciliator
Section 68 - Administrative assistance
Section 69 - Communication between conciliator and parties
Section 70 - Disclosure of information

Note: This article provides general legal information about the statutory provision. Readers should verify the latest statutory text, commencement notifications and applicable judicial decisions before relying on it in a legal proceeding.