Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, delivered the Keynote Address at the inaugural session of ‘Delhi Arbitration Weekend, 2023' at Delhi High Court.

CJI Chandrachud favoured the use of technology in arbitral proceedings and said the arbitration centers in the country should adopt protocols for having virtual hearings. Virtual hearings come with many advantages; for instance, the parties bear significantly lower costs than they otherwise would because they need not fly to the Arbitrators, their Lawyers, their in-house Counsels, and their witnesses, amongst others, to the venue of the Arbitration. 

During his address, CJI Chandrachud shared that it also becomes significantly easier to set the hearing dates, which accounts for the busy schedule of various people involved in the Arbitration because of the time taken to travel to the venue, which may be in a different country, is eliminated.

CJI further added though India has a chequered history with Arbitration, we have made legislative and judicial amendments to move towards being a pro-arbitration jurisdiction. 

He further added that "All Court interventions are not negative; while some of you would prefer a self-effacing Judiciary as opposed to an interventionist one, I believe courts ought to play an important role in ensuring an effective arbitration ecosystem." 

"While few cases haunted the Indian jurisdiction for a long period of time and led to it being considered anti-arbitration in its sweep, we have now emerged from the shadows of those decisions," CJI added.

CJI Chandrachud stated that "There are many promising candidates who are overlooked in favor of an established name, and this leads to the faulty perception that India doesn't have as many qualified arbitrators as required. We must ensure that parties appoint Lawyers as Arbitrators more frequently. Retired are doing an amazing job in the sphere of arbitration, but we cannot look only towards retired judges when it comes to appointing Arbitrators. We stand today at an important juncture for arbitration in India. While we have moved further towards being an Arbitration friendly jurisdiction, there is no doubt scope for improvements as with any other jurisdiction."

CJI DY Chandrachud further added that "Till now, to a common experience in the world of arbitration, the Covid-19 Pandemic acted as a catalyst in the adoption of technology in the legal system the world over. India was no exception. If the Indian Legal System has to move away from the tag of being an 'old boy's club,' the Arbitration space can head and heft to the mission by providing equal opportunity to men, women, and to them".

Lord Peter Henry Goldsmith at DAW, while delivering the Special Address, stated that India has a huge potential to become an Arbitration hub. There is huge potential for Indian Lawyers and Arbitrators to become arbitrators across the globe, but this potential has been unrealized till now. Party Autonomy must feature front and center of the arbitration regulations, allowing parties to appoint arbitrators from other jurisdictions with which they are more familiar. What is happening with Indian Courts with respect to technology is extraordinary.

Delhi High Court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, while delivering his address, stated that Arbitration had roots in the past and was not a recent discovery.  

Justice Vibhu Bhakru, in his Welcome Address at the DAW, stated that the DIAC is coming out with new Arbitration Rules from 1 April 2023. It provides for scrutiny of Draft Award to a Committee for checking typographical errors, better formatting, or any other thing the Tribunal may have overlooked. This will lead to improving the quality of awards emanating from the DIAC. 

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