Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel has said growing backlog of cases has become a major problem of the judiciary and that there is no alternative to mediation to improve the situation.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Sunday, the Chief Justice informed that there were more than 20,000 cases pending at the Supreme Court alone.

In view of increasing backlog at the apex court, appellate courts and district courts, mediation has been projected as the best remedial measure to speedy justice dispensation.

Speaking at the same programme, deputy Chief of Mission of ARD Rule of Law Project of the USAID, Govind Das Shrestha, President of Commercial Law Society, Tara Prakash Poudel, and other legal experts said mediation was a proven tool to impart effective justice.

The legal experts also pointed out that most important aspect of mediation that disputes are settled in a way that does not destroy the relationship between the disputing parties.

Supreme Court Justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Anup Raj Shama said scores of Supreme Court-referred cases have been settled through meditation within a short period.