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Arbitration in India

Arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted to an arbitrator for resolution. The decision of the arbitrator could be binding on the dispute. Hence, arbitration serves as a method for two parties to resolve a dispute through a private dispute resolution procedure instead of going to court. In this article, we look at an overview of arbitration in India.

Arbitration Advantages

Arbitration laws have been enacted in India to provide an effective and fast dispute resolution framework, to improve the Indian dispute resolution system. The advantages of arbitration are speedy dispute resolution and cost-effectiveness.

Fast dispute resolution: Arbitrations are typically much faster than dispute resolution through courts, as dates for arbitration can be obtained much faster than court dates.

Cost-Effectiveness: Since arbitration is much faster than court dispute resolution, the cost associated with the dispute resolution is lower.

Types of Arbitration

In India, there are two types of arbitration, ad-hoc arbitration or institutional arbitration. In an ad-hoc arbitration, the procedures for arbitration have to be agreed upon by the parties and the arbitrator. This could be an issue in most cases, as there is a dispute between the parties and cooperation on arbitration might not happen. Also, ad-hoc arbitration could have legal or technical flaws and defects in the award, as the arbitration procedures are not standardized. Hence, the likelihood of court interference is higher in ad-hoc arbitration.

In institutional arbitration, the procedural rules are already established by the arbitration institution. Hence, the formulating of procedures and rules is not required, as the arbitration framework is already in existence. Also, arbitration institutions have experienced arbitrators and a committee to review all arbitral awards. Hence, the possibility for a court to set aside the award by an arbitration institution is minimal.

Arbitration Institutions in India

• Some of the arbitral institutions in India are:
• Chambers of Commerce (organized by either region or trade)
• Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA)
• Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
• International Centre for Alternate Dispute Resolution (ICADR)
• LCIA India

Sample Arbitration Clause

To have an option to invoke arbitration, a standard arbitration clause, should be included in any contract or agreement. A sample arbitration clause for invoking arbitration by the Indian Council of Arbitration is provided below:

“Any dispute or difference whatsoever arising between the parties out of or relating to the construction, meaning, scope, operation or effect of this agreement or the validity or the breach thereof shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Rules of International Commercial Arbitration of the Indian Council of Arbitration and the award made in pursuance thereof shall be binding on the parties.”

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