Resolve Political Issues Thru Mediation

Senior justice of the Supreme Court Sapana Pradhan Malla talked about the need for political mediation in the country as parties indulge into petty issues and squander much of their organisational energies and resources. Speaking at an international  conference organised to discuss the mechanism and process of dispute resolutions in the Asia-Pacific region, she referred to the fact that political claims and counter claims  are brought to the court that take much of the judicial resources which otherwise could be utilised for delivery of justice to the ordinary populace. The stripe and complexion of political conflicts change every time political parties shift their alliances and alignments in the country. 

This time NCP (Maoist Centre) and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are arrayed against the   coalition government composed of the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). The opposition parties are hurling barbs against the government alleging that the authority is showing vengeful approach and actions against RSP president Rabi Lamichhane while probing into his alleged involvement in the cooperative scam. In order to resolve such conflicts and issues, political mediation could be a preferable option. But resort of mediation to address political conflicts has not been practiced not only in Nepal but also in other South Asian countries as well. While civil and commercial mediation have been widely practiced and legalised, its use to settle conflicts of   political realm has been less thought about.

Peaceful resolution

Political mediation can take many forms, ranging from informal dialogue between conflicting parties to more formalised and structured mediation processes. The main objective of political mediation is to promote a peaceful resolution that addresses the causes of the conflict, and encourages peaceful relationship and collaboration among the political stakeholders. It is a method used to settle conflicts where parties themselves negotiate or neutral third party facilitates dialogue between the estranged parties. The ultimate aim of political mediation is to find a resolution to the conflict that is acceptable to all involved parties while preventing conflict escalation. It enables the parties involved to discuss the core issues causing the conflict rather than just treating the surface-level symptoms. 

By delving deeper into the underlying causes of the conflict, political mediation can facilitate finding a lasting resolution that satisfies all parties involved. Acknowledging the shared political challenges opens the door to cooperation between conflicting parties. In fact, making progress towards a fairer and just society demands collaboration among political parties, aligned objectives, and the pooling of resources, knowledge, and expertise to create a long-lasting impact. In addition, political mediation can also address the root causes of all types of conflicts, including structural inequalities, discrimination, and exclusion. 

In many western countries like Germany political mediation has been widely used to overcome legislative stalemates. At the heart of the German political system lies the Bundestag (lower chamber of Parliament) and the Bundesrat (upper chamber of the parliament representing the 16 federal states) which together form the German parliament. When these two disagree on legislation, the mediation committee which is known as Vermit can step into the breach. The Mediation Committee, comprising members from both houses, isn't concerned with drafting new laws or arguing for or against amendments, but is about finding common ground.

The mediation committee of the German parliament has been in the news recently as it looked likely that it would take on the task of mediating on aspects of Germany’s controversial new legislation proposing to legalise cannabis. After fiery public consultations, the draft legislation was published in late 2023 and became the subject of intense debates in the Bundestag. Various state-level justice and health departments wanted to review aspects of the legislation, which would impact on a whole lot of other state legislation.

The Bundesrat’s Legal and Health Committee, therefore, made a list of potential areas to be addressed in mediation. This plan was generally welcomed as, with the coalition parties themselves in disagreement over the legislation too, this would have been a prime opportunity for mediation. Finally, as agreed and decided, the law cannabis has started to partially enter into force on first April 2024.

While we normally only associate mediation in political contexts with peace-making, such as the recent efforts of Qatar in the Middle East, Germany’s "mediation as legislative deadlock-breaker” approach is not as uncommon as one would think. The United States Conference Committee, which is formed when the House of Representatives and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill. The Committee acts as a mediator to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the legislation. The agreed-upon bill is then sent back to both chambers for a final vote. 

Consensus building

In South Africa, the National Economic Development and Labour Council serves as a formalised platform for the government, businesses, labour unions, and community groups to discuss and negotiate on economic, labour, and development policies before they are implemented. This structure allows for mediation and consensus building among the country's major political stakeholders in social and economic matters.

Not only would mediation in the context of Nepal make the whole political process more respectful, collaborative  and efficient, it could even possibly lead to fostering cooperation between political parties. It is also a call to take cognizance of the true flexibility and creeds of mediation as a process that can be integrated into a much wider range including governance and development than the traditional inter-personal dispute resolution mechanisms. The call of senior justice of the Supreme Court to use mediation to foster dialogue among political stakeholders is timely as this would not only lead to non-confrontational and non-adversarial resolution of political issues. 

(The author is presently associated with Policy Research Institute (PRI) as a senior research fellow.  rijalmukti@gmail.com)