By: Digvijay Khatai and Jibisa Janvi Behera. Introduction In a recent judgment pronounced on 6th November 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled that a Court exercising powers under Section 29A of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996 (Arbitration Act) is empowered to extend the mandate of the arbitrator even in cases where the application seeking extension of time is not made within the time limit fixed for the making of the award. The Sachin Datta Bench held that in cases where arbitrators have acted expediently, backed by the consent of the concerned parties and where am ..read more

By: Chitrangda Saini and Kanishtha Daswani. Introduction Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which mainly involves negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, or a combination of all three, gained popularity due to the expensive costs and time-consuming process associated with litigation. With technological advancement on the rise, ODR gained prominence as a preferred medium of dispute resolution, particularly for disputes arising out of electronic contracting, which are often delayed and inadequately addressed owing to inefficient and outdated court practices. Furthermore, the pandemic also nec ..read more

By: Bharat Manwani. On December 6, 2023, a 5-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India, in the case of Cox and Kings Ltd. v.  SAP India Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. upheld the validity of the group of companies doctrine. The Apex Court opined that the doctrine shall be retained in the Indian arbitration jurisprudence considering its utility in determining the intention of the parties in the context of complex transactions involving multiple parties and multiple agreements. The Court vide this verdict, has however rebelled against principles that define the very ..read more

By: Devansh Dubey The Jammu and Kashmir High Court in the Case of A K Engineers and Contractors Pvt Ltd v. Union Territory of J&K concluded that the arbitration agreement which is part of the contract concluded between the parties will also cover disputes arising out of additional work undertaken by parties even if there is no formal agreement validating the same. The analysis of the court can be seen as a pro-arbitration move in the Indian landscape specifically in cases of construction disputes where parties might overlook concluding a specific contract for every work that they are ..read more

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