Thought Leadership
Signature Projects
Justice K. Kannan’s contribution to justice reaches beyond the courtroom. He has founded institutions, shaped national policy, trained the next generation of practitioners, and been recognised internationally for his standing in the field of mediation.
Institutions Founded
Kunjipadi Mediation Centre
Established a mediation centre under the Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority in Kunjipadi, near Pondicherry, in 1981, among the first such centres in the country.
Ambedkar Law College Mediation Cell
Established a mediation cell at the Ambedkar Law College at Pondicherry.
Court-Annexed Mediation, Chennai
Joined the first team of mediators in Chennai when court-annexed mediation began there in 2005.
Institutional Roles
- Served as a member of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court of India to draft the mediation law, which became the Mediation Act, 2023, following public consultation and review by a parliamentary expert committee.
- Joined the Advisory Council of Presolv360, an Online Dispute Resolution institution, in January 2024, alongside former Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit and former Supreme Court Judge B.N. Srikrishna, to advise on legal, ethical, procedural and policy matters. Served as an empanelled mediator with the platform for several years before that.
- Serves as Independent Director of Lex Carta Private Limited, which has established the ODR platform JustAct.
- Takes part in shaping legal aid and alternative dispute resolution policy, as a member of the National Legal Services Authority.
- Established a mediation cell at the Ambedkar Law College at Pondicherry.
- Holds a Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship, awarded in 2017, and serves as the Weinstein International Foundation’s Senior Fellow for India.
Teaching and Curriculum
NALSAR University of Law
Taught a week-long credit course at NALSAR University of Law, Law of Testamentary and Intestate Succession in India: A Comparative Study Among Diverse Systems.
LiveLaw Lectures
Delivered a series of lectures on the Livelaw platform on Forensic Science and Toxicology, and Inheritance laws.
National Judicial Academy, Bhopal
Serves as regular visiting faculty at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
Editorial
Edited the Madras Law Journal, India's first law journal.