Chandra calls for stronger arbitration process

The government has introduced ‘New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill 2018’ which will reduce the settlement time and cost of arbitration.

The new Bill will help in building confidence with regard to dispute settlement and make India the hub of International arbitration, said Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, Suresh Chandra.

He was speaking at the workshop organised by FICCI in association with Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) and SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO) on ‘Challenges & Opportunities of Arbitration in the SAARC Region with a focus on India’ on 19 May 2018.

“There was a need of institutionalisation of arbitration and we are pre-envisaging a situation where we will have arbitral institutions graded by the Arbitration Council of India,” he said.

“In case of International arbitration, it will be designated by the Supreme Court of India and by various High Courts in case of domestic arbitration,” said Chandra.

He also stressed on having a stronger arbitration process by establishing a Pre-Institutional Mediation mechanism which will ensure out-of-court settlement in 50% of litigation.

Uma Sekhar, Joint Secretary, Legal & Treaties Division, Ministry of External Affairs said that SAARC Countries have a lot in common and SARCO should also be strengthened to establish as a more accurate, fair and efficient institution in settlement of cases by arbitration.

“We can develop a database of jury, legal advisors, arbitrators, counsellors which may help in achieving the objective of becoming International hub of arbitration settlement,” said Sekhar.

The SAARC region accounts for 3% of total world’s area; has 21% population and has combined GDP of US $267 billion. “With rising intra-regional trade, which stood at US $46.5 billion in 2015-16, arbitration is increasingly becoming important for the region, said Arun Chawla, Deputy Secretary General of FICCI. fii-news.com