The President of India promulgated the Arbitration and
Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 ("the
Ordinance") on October 23, 2015 amending the Arbitration and
Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act"). The said Ordinance
has come into force on the date of notification i.e. October 23,
2015.
Some of the salient features of the Ordinance:
1. Jurisdiction of Indian Courts in case of international
commercial arbitration [Section 2]
In case of international commercial arbitrations, no court
inferior to a High Court shall have jurisdiction.
Unless the parties agree to the contrary,
provisions of Section 9 (interim measures by court), 27 (court
assistance in taking evidence) and 37 (1)(a) (appeal from order
granting or refusing interim measure by courts) and 37(3) will also
apply to international commercial arbitration even if the place of
arbitration is outside India and the arbitral award made or to be
made is enforceable under Part II.
