International Arbitration

International Commercial Arbitration is defined under section 2(f) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, means an arbitration relating to disputes arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, considered as commercial under the law in force in India and as defined in this section. International arbitration allows the parties to avoid local court procedures. International arbitration has different rules than domestic arbitration.

Forums/ Institutions

There are several international arbitral forums available, the most popular arbitration forums for Indians are ICC, SIAC, LCIA but this depends on industry sector. In addition, there are several other major players in the international dispute resolution: ICDR, CIETAC, HKIAC, LMAA, JCAA, KCAB, PCA, DIAC, WIPO, JAMS, ASA, VIAC, ACICA, ICADR, CMAC, AAA, FOSFA, FICA, IDAC, NDIAC, NYIAC, SAC, BCDR, BBMC, SCMC, IIAM, JCAA, KLRCA, MMC amongst many other.

Seat in India

International Arbitration with seat in India- In an Institutional Arbitration the agreement stipulates that in case of a dispute or differences arising shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration administered by the institution in accordance with their rules, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference in the arbitration clause. By this International arbitration allows the parties to avoid local court procedures.

Arbitration Clause

Arbitration clause in a contract is a very important factor that determines the cost of the dispute amongst other important factors the common elements included in an arbitration clause to the contract are the type of Arbitration, the parties have the choice to choose between the institutional and the ad hoc. If institutional, the name of the institution and its rules; seat of arbitration; language; number of arbitrator and the governing law.

Commencement

In an Institutional arbitration, the institution rules provides that the date of commencement is the date on which the institution receives the request for arbitration. Arbitrator is appointed from the panel of the institution depending on the nature of dispute and in most of the institutional arbitration a time-table is chalked out as to when the pleadings should be complete thereafter hearings, evidence, cross and submissions and thereafter passsing of an award.

Enforcement of Awards

Domestic awards are governed by Part I whereas foreign awards are governed by part II of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of India. A Foreign award means an arbitral award which relates to differences relating to the matters considered as commercial under the law in force in India, made as a result of foreign arbitration not being a domestic one. Prior to applying for enforcement and execution of the award will need to wait for the appeal period to expire.

Interim Relief

Under Section 9, the court has wide powers to grant interim measures of protection as may appear to the court to be just and convenient, including for preservation, interim custody or sale of goods which are the subject matter of arbitration, for securing the amount in dispute, interim injunction, appointment of a receiver or guardian, etc. Any party to the arbitration agreement can make an application for interim measures in the course of the arbitral proceedings. However, after making of the arbitral award, only a successful party which is entitled to seek the enforcement of the award can apply to the court under Section 9 for protection in terms of Section 9 (ii) of the Act. Consequently, even on the award being set aside, the party whose claim has been rejected vide the said award, cannot apply for interim measures.

Challenge of Award

Section 34(2) of the Arbitration Act provides two sets of grounds on which an award may be set aside. Section 34(2)(a) sets out grounds of challenge such as incapacity of a party, invalidity of the arbitration agreement, lack of proper notice of appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings or inability of a party to present his case, an award which deals with disputes not submitted to arbitration, improper composition of the arbitral tribunal or arbitral procedure contrary to the agreement between the parties, etc. Section 34(2)(b) of the Arbitration Act provides that an award may be set aside if the court finds that the subject-matter of the dispute is not capable of settlement by arbitration or if the award is in conflict with the public policy of India.

Appeal

The seat of arbitration shall be the jurisdiction for appeal to setaside an arbitral award. Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 refers to appealable orders wherein (1) An appeal shall lie from the following orders (and from no others) to the Court authorised by law to hear appeals from original decrees of the Court passing the order, namely:-- [(a) refusing to refer the parties to arbitration under section 8; (b) granting or refusing to grant any measure under section 9; (c) setting aside or refusing to set aside an arbitral award under section 34.] (2) An appeal shall also lie to a Court from an order granting of the arbitral tribunal.— (a) accepting the plea referred in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 16; or (b) granting or refusing to grant an interim measure under section 17.

Cost & Expenses

Costs in international arbitration usually fall into two broad categories: (i) costs of the arbitration (i.e. the costs of the tribunal and institution (if any)), and (ii) legal costs.

Seat Outside India

International arbitration outside India is when the arbitration clause in the contract stipulates that the dispute if any shall be resolved in a seat which is not located in India.

Institutional

An institutional arbitration is one that is administered by an institution agreed upon by the parties and conducted in accordance with that institution's arbitration rules.

FAQs

Q&A on International Arbitration

All frequently asked questions on International arbitration conducted by institution their procedures and rules and related subject are answered here .

Glossary

Glossary of terms on International Arbitration

Useful definitions annd glossary of legal and general terms that defines many of the most commonly-used terms and expressions in international arbitration disputes.

General Procedure

General procedure on International Arbitration

It is the arbitration mechanism where an existing arbitration institution or entity carries out the entire arbitration under their own set of rules and procedures.

Top-Tier Solicitors

Solicitor firms for International Arbitration

Research based report on top-tier solicitor firms, the best solicitors and law firms in india, leading individualss and rising stars in International Arbitration work in India.

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