Restraints On The Arbitrability Of Disputes In International Arbitration

I. Introduction

In order to understand the captioned issue, it may be worthwhile to shed some light on the broad concept of 'Arbitrability'¹. In the ordinary sense, arbitrability involves the issue of whether specific category of disputes can be barred from arbitration or whether it belongs exclusively to the domain of state courts.² If the subject matter of the dispute is non-arbitrable, the parties cannot confer jurisdiction upon the Arbitral Tribunal vide an arbitration agreement or otherwise.³ In recent times, the trend towards expansion of arbitrability along with a host of other favourable factors have played a crucial role in making arbitration an attractive competitor to court based adjudication.⁴ Arbitrability has assumed varied significance under different national laws and in the United States, it is often given a broader connotation than the prevailing international understanding and includes the whole issue of tribunal's jurisdiction.⁵ Arbitrability is