Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta who participated the in the Panel Discussion at IDRC's "2nd Arbitrate in India Conclave" on Saturday has pitched for 'Special Arbitration Courts' akin to that of Tribunals to expedite the Arbitration proceedings in the country. 

Taking one step ahead, the idea of 'specialised benches' given by the Panel Chairperson, Justice (Retd.) Indu Malhotra, he added that the scenario, at present in the country is such that having 'Special Arbitration Courts' itself would work more effectively to eliminate the aspect of slowness in the proceedings.

"So far as post Arbitration scenario is concerned, the difficulty is in and I will fully agree with the ladyship that you need specialised benches but the scenario in the country at present is that it is always the concerned judge be it at the district court or high court who gets the business of dealing with Section 34 or Section 37 appeals. If we can think of Special Arbitration Courts by itself like separate Tribunal for say Insolvency, separate Tribunals for GST regime, etc. with specialised judges, who will deal with Sections 34 and 37 proceedings and simultaneously subject to of course the limitations under the Indian Arbitration Act if that is the law governing the Arbitration, then even execution proceedings can be entrusted to specialised courts rather than specialize benches of the same court. I think that can be a big step forward", he said.

He added that apart from his view as a Lawyer, the government is also very serious about giving a boost to Arbitration as an immediate and quick redressal mechanism as it is aiming to expand the foreign investment pool through Arbitration/ ADR.

"We are also looking at Arbitration as one of the key factors for the purpose of creating an incentivised atmosphere for foreign investment in India etc. So, I am sure when the right time occurs, the legislature and executive both, would take appropriate steps. But the fulfilling thing is that the scenario three and four years before and the scenario today has completely changed. There are certain road breakers which are in the decision-making of at least foreign investors and India need to address them and I am sure that India, both at the executive and legislative level will address that," he said.

At one point, the Moderator, Adv Shashank Garg discussed with the panel that there is an inherent perception of bias, where the State entities get involved, internationally, giving the example of China and Russia, which he said are popular or rather infamous for their sovereign intervention in the Arbitration process, asked the Solicitor General as what he thinks are the steps that should be taken by the govt or by the judiciary to ensure that there is no perception of bias in the way we arbitrate in India, especially when PSUs or GoI is a party.

The SG, at the outset, asked to not compare India with China and added that nobody does so. He further, on a personal level, denied that there is any perception of any Institutional bias or sovereign interference as far as India as an Arbitration hub is concerned.

"If you go by the number of Arbitral Awards which go in favour of either the Government of India or PSUs and ones going against them, also itself withstands the test that there is no interference and no institutional bias so to say. We can legislatively do nothing to say that doubt, if at all, someone has that doubt, I think our credentials in these aspects can only be proved by the results which we give in the Arbitration proceedings. There cannot be any straight-jacket formula which can be employed, either by the executive or by the legislature to ensure that there would not be any misconception of any bias. You cannot deal with any misconception with legislative provision or by other judicial action also, it's always the things that speak for themselves," he said.

The Indian Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) on Saturday organized the 2nd Arbitrate in India Conclave 2023 in collaboration with Bar Council of India’s India International University of Legal Research and Education, Goa (IIULER) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

The event marked the 3rd Anniversary of IDRC. Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of India, who was the Chief Guest of the event, delivered the Presidential Address, which was followed by the panel discussion

The topic for the panel discussion was – “Making India a hub of International Commercial Arbitration: Current Trends & Challenges in Arbitration in Lieu of allowing Foreign Law
Firms in India”.

 

 

 

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