An Interplay Between MSME-D Act And Arbitration Act

Arbitration is undoubtedly the most popular mode of dispute resolution in the 21^st century. With increasing cross-border transactions, numerous parties are opting to adjudicate their disputes through an arbitral tribunal instead of the time-consuming traditional route of approaching courts. Party autonomy is the ethos of arbitration, which makes it the most attractive alternate dispute resolution mechanism.

In India conciliation and arbitration is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act). Since its enactment in 1996, the Arbitration Act has undergone several amendments, with the end goal of making India a global hub of arbitration. Despite such amendments, there exists one tenet of arbitration which remains unchanged under the Arbitration Act - the existence of an arbitration agreement between the parties to submit their disputes to arbitration.