INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS The Hong Kong court affirms the immunity of arbitrators from judicial obligations to provide evidence. (Song Lihua v Lee Chee Hong [2023] HKCFI 1954) In this case, the Court of First Instance delved into the issue of arbitrators’ obligation to provide evidence during proceedings challenging their awards. Specifically, the case involved an application to set aside an order granting leave to enforce an arbitral award from the Chengdu Arbitration Commission in Hong Kong. Acknowledging the quasi-judicial role of arbitrators, the Court affirmed that arbitrators should e ..read more

By: Arunoday Rai Introduction Several clubs went into severe financial loss and entered into bankruptcy due to Covid-19. These clubs had incurred debts and the creditors received some of their claims through the creditors’ arrangement in the national bankruptcy proceedings. Some of the new clubs may reemerge as a ‘sporting successor’ of these bankrupt clubs. Whether the creditor can approach FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (“FDRC”) to receive the withstanding credit from these successor clubs following the bankruptcy proceedings of the old club remains unclear. It is in this context the author ..read more

By: Dhruv Kohli and Dharmvir Brahmbhatt Introduction The Delhi High Court recently in the case of Union of India v. Reliance Industries Limited & Ors. while upholding a 1.7 billion USD arbitral award classified an Indian seated arbitration between two Indian parties as an “International Commercial Arbitration” (“ICA”). The dispute finds it genesis between a contract that was signed between Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and M/s. Reliance Industries Limited and Niko Limited. Reliance later transferred a portion of its participating interest to British Petroleum through a Supplementar ..read more

By: Deborshi Sarkar In the first part of the article, subsequent to an introduction the author has portrayed the issue pertaining to unilateral appointment of arbitrator post the 2015 amendment. Further, the author also analysed the fallacy in the persona designate approach adapted by the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. In this part the author aims at arguing as to why participation in proceedings including filing of pleadings by parties does not constitute a valid waiver to Section 12(5). Filing of Pleadings as an Express Agreement in Writing The proviso to Section 12(5) postulates a possible wa ..read more

By: Deborshi Sarkar INTRODUCTION Recently, the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in Mcleod Russel v. Aditya Birla Finance Limited (hereinafter, ‘McLeod Russel’) has upheld a unilateral appointment of a sole arbitrator. The Court, while adjudicating on an application for termination of the arbitrator’s mandate took a steep deviation from the existing jurisprudence being followed by High Courts across the country. Surprisingly, while dealing with a similar arbitration agreement, this Court previously invalidated an arbitrator’s mandate owing to his unilateral appointment. However, in McLeod Russel the ..read more

By: Nidhi Ngaihoih [1] INTRODUCTION Consolidation refers to the ability to combine multiple arbitral proceedings, initially commenced separately, often against the same respondent State, into a single proceeding.[1] It mainly takes place between parties when there is an existence of a relationship, the subject matter of the dispute is common, and the underlying agreements between the various parties are referable to one single economic transaction.[2] Lacking legal recognition, there is a dire need for the Indian courts to promote consolidation solely for the reasons that [1] it avoids inconsi ..read more

By: Yuman Islam and Ravit Singh Introduction In the recent case of M/s Oasis Projects Ltd. v. Managing Director, the Delhi Court has again opened Pandora’s box concerning pre-arbitration procedures and whether or not they are mandatory. The dispute in the case was regarding a clause that had mandated the parties to refer to conciliation before going for arbitration. In this case, though the court held that conciliation as a pre-arbitration procedure is not mandatory, the greater question needs to be addressed regarding the legal characterisation of such pre-arbitration procedures in India ..read more

By: Nisarg Bhardwaj Abstract – Multi-tier dispute resolution clauses are adopted by parties widely in order to facilitate an attempt to reach amicable settlement before arbitration. As hopeful as it sounds, the enforcement and recognition of such clauses have faced issues from courts across jurisdictions. Courts have adopted various approaches towards dealing with non-compliance with these clauses. These approaches can be categorized in two broad heads – one approach targeting the jurisdiction of tribunal on account of non-compliance, other targeting the admissibility of specific claims before ..read more

By: Gaurav Chaudhary The author would like to thank Kishan Gupta, an Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. In the previous part of this blog, the author analysed the doctrine’s usage and problem associated with the way it is applied in the Indian legal landscape. In this part, the author will examine the doctrine through the lens of various other jurisdictions and give a more practical way of applying the doctrine. International Jurisprudence  Switzerland The view on the doctrine by the Swedish courts has been qui ..read more

By: Gaurav Chaudhary The author would like to thank Kishan Gupta, an Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. Introduction The Group of Companies doctrine (Hereinafter ‘doctrine’) is a legal principle that has come under immense scrutiny due to its prevalent usage in Indian arbitration and corporate law. The significance of the doctrine is underscored by the abundance of promoter/founder-driven corporate structures in India. These structures often involve intricate webs of interconnected entities, subsidiaries, and related parties. T ..read more