Arbitration In India – The Way Forward

Introduction: The 2015 amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("2015 Amendment Act") were aimed at encouraging dispute resolution through arbitration and promoting arbitration as a quick and effective alternative to litigation and limit judicial intervention. However, a need was felt to further reform the arbitration regime in India and address certain issues that were faced with the introduction of the 2015 Amendment Act.

Domestic arbitrations mostly comprise of ad hoc arbitration. For a long time, a need was felt to promote institutional arbitration in India and strengthen the arbitral institutions in India. In this context, a High Level Committee chaired by Justice B. N. Srikrishna, Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India was set up to make India a robust centre for international and domestic arbitration. The Committee submitted its Report to the Government on 30th July, 2017 (the "Committee Report").