Examining The Need For A Legislated Default Rule In India For Law Governing The Arbitration Agreement

Introduction

Arbitration can often be a complex process involving navigating through multiple laws extending to multiple jurisdictions at the same time. In an arbitration involving parties from multiple jurisdictions or a foreign element there can be an intermix of particularly three set of laws at the same time i.e. law governing the main contract (lex contractus), law governing the arbitration or the seat (lex arbitri) and law governing the procedure of the arbitration (lex fora). Lex arbitri and lex fora can often be same in cases of ad hoc arbitrations and when the arbitration is not under any specific institution. Apart from the above three, there is another law that can apply to an arbitration agreement itself which translates into law governing the arbitration agreement.