ICADR - An introduction The justice dispensing system in India has come under great stress for several reasons; chief of them being the huge pendency of cases in courts underlining the need for alternative dispute resolution methods. The Government of India thought it necessary to provide a new forum and procedure for resolving international and domestic disputes quickly. In a conference held in New Delhi on 4th December 1993 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of India and presided over by the Chief Justice of India, the following resolution was adopted by the Chief Ministers and Chief Justice of States in India "The Chief Ministers and Chief Justices were of the opinion that courts were not in a position to bear the entire burden of justice system and that a number of disputes lent themselves to resolution by alternative modes such as arbitration, mediation and negotiation. They emphasized the desirability of disputants taking advantage of alternative dispute resolution which provided procedural flexibility, saved valuable time and money and avoided the stress of a conventional trial." There is no better option but to strive to develop alternative modes of dispute resolution by establishing facilities for providing settlement of disputes through Arbitration, Conciliation,Mediation, Negotiation, etc. It was against this backdrop that The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) was established and registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 for the promotion and development of ADR facilities and techniques. The headquarters of ICADR at New Delhi was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India on October 6, 1995 in a function which was attended by more than forty delegates from the SAARC countries. The ICADR is an autonomous organization working under the aegis of the Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India with its headquarters at New Delhi and Regional Centres at Hyderabad and Bangalore. The Chief Justice of India is the Patron of ICADR. *********