India, June 10 -- Observing that international arbitration is increasingly facing procedural hurdles, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said mediation is no longer an alternative but an essential instrument to achieve timely, amicable and lasting resolution of disputes.

He was delivering a lecture on "Mediation, Arbitration and the Courts: Converging Trends in the Indian and English Approaches in Commercial Dispute Resolution" at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on Monday.

Calling for a fundamental shift in how global corporations and legal systems approach conflict, the CJI said, "The primary question for a modern corporation should no longer be where to litigate, but rather how to resolve." He said courts, arbitration and...