New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- Supreme Court judge justice Surya Kant said on Friday that legislation, by itself, cannot transform culture and while laws may provide a foundation, they must be animated by practice, sustained by institutions, and embraced by society, as he highlighted the centrality of mediation to India's justice system. Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Mediation Conference in Visakhapatnam, justice Kant underlined that mediation should not be seen as a concession or a weaker substitute for adjudication, but as a superior process that "empowers parties and preserves relationships." Justice Kant, who is in line to become the Chief Justice of India later this year, noted that while courts remain indispensable in enforcing rights, justice cannot be confined to decrees and judgments. "If courts represent the authority of justice, mediation represents its humanity. It restores agency to the parties, transforms conflict into cooperation, and turns adversaries into partners in resolution," he said and welcomed the Mediation Act, 2023 as a watershed development but cautioned that legislation alone cannot create a culture of consensual dispute resolution....