In a bid to make its legal regime international arbitration-friendly, India has repeatedly amended its principal legislation, i.e. the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the ‘Act’), over the last five years. The most recent one, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (the ‘2020 Amendment’), came into force on 4 November 2020 seeking “to address…

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual witness testimonies were prevalent in specific instances, such as when witnesses could not reach the venue because of illness. Article 8.1 of IBA Rules on Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration permits virtual testimony only at the discretion of the tribunal. The Commentary on the Rules establishes that the tribunal’s…

The issue of limitation period applicable to the enforcement of a foreign award in India has been a vexed question for a long time because of various conflicting and diametrically opposite decisions rendered by different High Courts in India. The issue has finally been settled recently by the Supreme Court of India on 16 September…

A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court (Calcutta HC) recently delivered a judgement in Balasore Alloys Ltd. v. Medima LLC which revived the debate regarding whether a ‘civil court has jurisdiction to grant anti-arbitration injunctions in foreign seated arbitrations?’ This decision requires a careful examination because of its impact on 1) the arbitration-friendly reputation…

The Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) recently ruled on the arbitrability of fraud in the case of Avitel Post Studioz Ltd. v. HSBC PI Holdings [2020] (“Avitel”). The judgement lays down the tests to determine “serious allegations of fraud” and thereby disputes which cannot be resolved through arbitration. Various developments in the jurisprudence of…

The relationship between developing countries and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has not been smooth, to say the least. Several developing countries such as Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador have pulled out from the ICSID Convention. India is one of the prominent developing countries that has refrained from joining the ICSID Convention,…

Indian courts have pronounced inconsistent decisions regarding the limitation period on applications for enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This blog post discusses the conflicting jurisprudence and advocates adoption of purposive interpretation for its redressal. Sections 47 to 49 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (“the Act”), which forms part of the chapter on…

On 10 July 2020, a panel of arbitration practitioners discussed the topic of “Recent Developments and Key Arbitration Trends in Asia” as part of the 2020 Paris Arbitration Week. The panel discussion covered the distinctive features of and the latest developments in five different jurisdictions: Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. Hosted by…

In a recent decision, National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) v. Alimenta S.A. (“NAFED”), the Indian Supreme Court (“SC”) refused to enforce a foreign award on the ground of it being opposed to public policy under Section 7 (1) (b) (ii) of the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act, 1961 (“the 1961 Act”)….

This post analyses the recent developments in enforcement of foreign awards in India that were discussed during the Delos’ Tagtime webinar by Mr. Gourab Banerji SA.1) who was “tagged” by Sir Bernard Eder. Mr. Banerji then “tagged” his colleague from the Nigerian Bar Ms. Funke Adekoya SAN to appear in the next Tagtime webinar by…

The Status of Art Arbitrations in India As per a 2018 report, the Indian art industry is plagued by legal ambiguities, forgeries and lack of transparency, and infrastructural support, making it a fertile ground for disputes. A steady increase in the number of high-net-worth individuals and a surge in online auctions have contributed to the…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns have the legal community debating and exploring force majeure. That, however, does not rule out the imminent likelihood of international arbitration locking horns with domestic insolvency law. Arbitration agreements and subsequent awards may possibly be left redundant and award-holders remediless where insolvency proceedings are commenced in respect of…

The Prolonged saga of enforcement of the ICC commercial arbitration award of 2015 in Devas v. Antrix (ICC Case No. 18051/ CYK of 2011) has not only raised several interesting questions in respect of pathological arbitration agreements but has also highlighted the ineffectiveness of the “Negative Effect” of the doctrine of Kompetenz-Kompetenz, given the possible…

In a recent decision, Bina Modi and Ors. v. Lalit Modi and Ors., CS(OS) 84 and 85/2020, a single judge of the Delhi High Court has cast doubt on the jurisdiction of Indian courts to grant injunctions restraining arbitral proceedings (popularly called anti-arbitration injunctions). While the grant of anti-arbitration injunctions by Indian courts has been…

This blog has previously discussed the issue of jurisdiction of Indian courts over foreign-seated arbitrations and the issue of Indian parties choosing a foreign seat of arbitration. However, a more fundamental issue concerns the interpretation of arbitration agreements to determine the choice of seat. Since September 2018, the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) has…

On 25 January 2020, India and Brazil signed an investment agreement  (the “India-Brazil BIT”). As an agreement that has been signed at the dawn of the new decade, it is symbolic for a few reasons. First, it is a south-south agreement between two large and growing economies. Second, it abandons investor-state arbitration in favor of…

On 25 January 2020, India and Brazil signed an Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty, in the presence of the Brazilian president Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Arguably the most prominent of the 3 BITs that India has signed since adopting the model BIT in December 2015. The new treaty articulates several provisions (briefly discussed below) in departure…

During the recent visit of Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, to India, Brazil and India inked the investment cooperation and facilitation treaty (hereinafter bilateral investment treaty – BIT). From Brazil’s point of view, this BIT is an extension of a novel approach to foreign investment in international law based on investment facilitation and cooperation, not investment protection…

Most of the contemporary discourses on pre-arbitral judicial interference in India entail the scope of the judicial enquiry required before the constitution of an arbitral tribunal. As it currently stands, Section 8 (for arbitrations seated in India) and Section 45 (for foreign-seated arbitrations) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“1996 Act”) have the potential…

The issue of unilateral appointment of a sole arbitrator by a party has been in the spotlight since the Supreme Court of India’s (“SC”) decision in Perkins Eastman Architects DPC & Anr. v. HSCC (India) Ltd. (“Perkins”) on 26 November 2019. This case largely puts the issue to rest by rendering unilateral sole arbitrator appointments…

A 3-day International Conference on Construction Law & Arbitration was held in December 2019 in New Delhi, co-hosted by the Society of Construction Law-India and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-India. During the course of their presentations, the panelists discussed various topics ranging from trends in construction law in the context of arbitration across global jurisdictions…

The automatic stay provisions in the Indian arbitration regime have been a matter of a long debate. At first blush, the automatic stay seems like the perfect protection mechanism for any award debtor; however, it often puts the award creditor in a difficult spot. Arbitral awards rarely go unchallenged in India. The automatic stay provision…

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on his recent visit to India in January 2020 remarked that the 21st century belongs to India. If that is true, it would also mean a flurry of disputes involving some Indian angle are inevitable and will keep the arbitration industry busy. Thus, even though 2019 may have drawn curtains over…

Section 29A was inserted, by way of amendments to the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act (the Act), in the year 2015. With the introduction of this provision, the time-period for passing the award has been fixed at twelve months from the date the arbitral tribunal enters upon reference and is extendable by another six months…