Paralegal service providers trained on mediation procedures and skills

In a move aimed at standardising the process of mediation and negotiations, the Bhutan National Legal Institute (BNLI) conducted a workshop on mediation procedures and skills for the paralegal service providers.

Paralegal by definition means or refers to a person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not fully qualified as a lawyer.

There are 33 paralegal service providers registered with the Bar Council at the moment.

Today, Nangkha Nagdrik, Alternative Dispute Resolution or the out of court settlement or mediation plays a significant role in providing access to justice at the grassroots level.

However, it has been observed that different paralegal service providers adopt different mediation and negotiation procedures. This is exactly what the two day workshop sought to change.

“When providing the services of mediation and negotiation, it is important that everyone does it in the same way, so we conducted this workshop with the main motive to standardize the process of mediation and negotiations,” Dechen Lhamo, a Legal Officer with the BNLI said.

The workshop was an eye opener for many. “I have realised differences in the process of mediation that we practice,” Namgay Rinchen, one of the participants said.

“I have also come to know about several errors I committed in the course of providing legal services to my clients. The meeting has been very helpful.”

Namgay Dorji, another participant, said the workshop would help him provide better services. “I am confident that I would able to do better now,” he said

“The workshop also provided us opportunities to share our experiences, which is a great learning experience. I look forward to attending more of such seminars.”

Despite having a good knowledge of national laws and experience in legal services, most of the paralegal service providers do not have a formal law degree and their expertise are limited to out of court settlement only.

Currently, most of them deal mainly with land disputes, marriage, inheritance and divorce cases and contracts.

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