My Lord, When an Arbitration Agreement is denied, can the Chief Justice or his Designate, in exercise of power under Section 11 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 appoint an Arbitrator without deciding the question whether there was an Arbitration Agreement between the parties, leaving it open to be decided by the Arbitrator? No. […]

In a Judgment, indicative of clerical errors and incorrect citations, at least, the following is clear:  “The Chief Justice exercises judicial power while passing an order under Section 11 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and thus can examine the question as to whether the claim which has been raised before him survives and […]

My Lord, If an Arbitration Clause stipulates, dispute under contract ‘is to be settled and referred to Arbitration in London’ and further stipulates, ‘English Law’ will apply, does that expressly exclude applicability of Part I of Arbitration Act? Yes. “The parties have clearly intended that the Arbitration will be conducted in accordance with English Law […]

“A 3-Judge Bench of this Court in Union of India v. Bright Power Projects (India) Pvt. Ltd., (2015) 9 SCC 695 has considered the provisions contained in Section 31(7)(a) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and considered the words “unless otherwise agreed by parties” in the said section and held that the Arbitrator is […]

My Lord, Application of Part I of The Arbitration Act? “It is clear that the law applicable to Arbitration Agreement in the present case is English Law. Once it is found that the law governing the Arbitration Agreement is English Law, Part I of the Indian Arbitration Act stands impliedly excluded. This has been a […]

Under Section 30(a) of The 1940 Arbitration Act, an Arbitral Award can be set side if the Arbitrator has “misconducted himself or the proceedings”. In K.P. Poulose, (1975) 2 SCC 236 it was held, “misconduct under Section 30(a) has not a connotation of moral lapse. It comprises legal misconduct which is complete if the Arbitrator on […]

My Lord, Suppose a Family Dispute in which the Arbitration Clause clearly specifies a Grand Uncle of a Joint Family is the only person in whom all Members of the Family have confidence. In the case of resignation or death of such Grand Uncle, is it possible to say by necessary implication no other person […]

My Lord, What is the meaning of the word ‘rules’ as appearing in Section 15(2) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996? “Under Section 15(2) of the Act in a situation where the mandate of an Arbitrator terminates, a Substitute Arbitrator is required to be appointed according to the rules that were applicable to the […]

“Section 31(7) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by using the words ‘unless otherwise agreed by the parties’, categorically specifies that the Arbitrator is bound by the terms of the contract so far as award of interest from the date of cause of action to the date of the award is concerned. Therefore, where […]

“The soul of every adjudicatory process is the recording of reasons.” It indicates a ‘disclosure of mind‘, which in turn demonstrates an ‘application of mind‘. In Raipur Development, (1989) 2 SCC 721 however, the SC held that a Non-Speaking Arbitral Award cannot be set aside except in cases where the parties stipulate that the Arbitrator […]

Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra, while attempting to clear a ‘maze’ has perhaps created yet another in Harmony Innovation Shipping Limited v. Gupta Coal India Limited, [Civil Appeal No. 610 of 2015] . From the many Post-Bhatia cases dealing with implied exclusion, only two propositions became relatively well-established: (1) the choice of a foreign proper law, in […]

“Even if the Arbitration Agreement was to specifically provide for any particular qualification(s) of an Arbitrator the same would not denude the power of Court, acting under Section 11(6), in an appropriate case, to depart there from. In Singh Builders Syndicate, (2009) 4 SCC 523 pendency of Arbitration proceedings for over a decade was found […]

“Once there is an agreement between the parties to refer the disputes or differences arising out of the agreement to Arbitration, and in case either party, ignoring the terms of the agreement, approaches the Civil Court and the other party, in terms of the Section 8 of The Arbitration Act, moves the Court for referring […]