Freedom Of Seat: A Big Win For Party Autonomy

Introduction

In a landmark judgement in the case of PASL Wind Solutions Private Limited v. GE Power Conversion India Private Limited¹ ("PASL Case"), the Supreme Court on 20.04.2021, has finally settled a gnawing issue confronted by the legal fraternity time and again - that of 'choice of seat of arbitration' between Indian parties. This issue has been hotly debated for several years on account of the conflicting rulings issued by various High Courts and the Supreme Court. The decision of the Supreme Court in the PASL Case has therefore brought some much-needed clarity by emphasizing that two Indian parties are in no way barred from choosing a foreign seat of arbitration, thereby upholding the principle of party autonomy which is the backbone of all arbitration proceedings. More importantly, the Supreme Court also clarified that the arbitral award passed in such cases would be treated as a 'foreign award' enforceable under the provisions of Part II of the