Arbitration Law

Arbitration is not a new concept in India and since time immemorial arbitration has been used as a mode of dispute resolution in India. In earlier days there was no specific law or rule governing arbitration, the disputes were bought before the Panchayat and settled. Even today the Panchayat system is prevalent in India. Current arbitration law in India owes its origin to the Bengal Regulations of 1772. Later on arbitration in India was basically dealt by three legislations namely the Arbitration (Protocol and Convention) Act, 1937, the Indian Arbitration Act 1940, and the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act 1961. Indian Arbitration Act 1940 was the general law governing arbitration in India along the lines of the English Arbitration Act of 1934, and the Arbitration (Protocol and Convention) Act, 1937 and the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act 1961 Acts were designed to enforce foreign arbitral awards. Finally the 1940 Act was repealed and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was enacted. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been formulated on the lines of the UNCITRAL Model Law and currently is the applicable legislation with regard to Arbitration in India.

Disputes form an integral part of our daily lives today. It could be a dispute with a manufacturer for supplying defective products, or it could be a dispute between companies or it could be a dispute of any other kind. There is a general rise in the number of disputes today. More and more cases are being filed in courts, but not many are getting resolved as they get stuck in the whole litigation process. If one considers the whole cost of the litigation process and the complete time taken for a litigation to end, then no disputes would be bought before the court of law. As the cost and the time taken to resolve a dispute is high.

Time is of crucial importance in today’s world and the same time cannot be lost in doing rounds of the court houses. If one opts for arbitration to settle his disputes then he would be saving a lot of his crucial time. Due to all this arbitration has emerged as one of the preferred modes of dispute resolution today. It is less time consuming as compared to approaching courts for relief. The courts take a long time in resolution of disputes and many a times even after spending a significant amount of money the ultimate decision of the court might not favor both parties equally. But in arbitration this is not the case. Both the parties get a fair chance to present their stand. All this makes arbitration a very lucrative mode of dispute resolution.

Arbitration gives both parties to dispute an equal chance to present their stand and to arrive at a solution which will not be burdensome on one party and would be beneficial for both. Arbitration helps in amicable resolution of disputes and is now a preferred mode of dispute resolution.

Arbitration is a mode of dispute resolution which has gained popularity in recent times. In case of arbitration the parties to dispute must agree to submit themselves to arbitration to solve the issue of dispute amicably. Arbitration can be used by companies, individuals or by parties to a contract. Most of the agreements today which govern the relationship between two parties have an arbitration clause specifically. This arbitration clause makes things simpler and in case of any dispute the parties submit themselves to arbitration. Arbitration is a mode of dispute resolution which consumes less time, is more cost effective and gives the parties to dispute a fairer chance to present their side of the story.

Civil Procedure Code
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