From Arbitration To Mediation: The Government’s Evolving Approach To Dispute Resolution In India

Introduction 

India’s arbitration landscape has evolved significantly through legislative reforms and a pro-arbitration judicial approach. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has undergone several amendments in the past three decades to position India as a global arbitration hub. However, a series of developments from 2023-2024 have disrupted India’s trajectory toward becoming a global arbitration hub. 

The Reform Decade: Amendments of 2015, 2019 and 2021 

While arbitration has long existed in India, including under the Arbitration Acts of 1899 and 1940, the significant break came with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, aligned with the UNCITRAL framework, which for the first time gave India a comprehensive, internationally harmonised set of laws premised on party autonomy, finality of awards, and limited judicial intervention. This underscored India’s ambition to participate in the global economy.