Introduction
After a series of heated debates, the Arbitration and
Conciliation Amendment Act 2021 (the 'Amendment')
finally received the parliamentary nod on 10th March 2021. The
Amendment sought to replace the Arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, which came into force on 20th November
2020, when the parliament was not in session.
Following a hiatus of almost two decades after enactment of the
Act in 1996, the government has been introducing a flurry of
amendments to elevate the position of India as the hub of
international arbitration. This Amendment has effectively brought
two new changes to the principle legislation - Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 (the 'Act'). First is the
addition of unconditional stay on the enforcement of domestic
awards and second, removal of the Eighth Schedule under the Act. As
elucidated in the statement of object and reasons, the Amendment
sought "to ensure that all the stakeholder parties get
