Group Of Companies Doctrine – Assessing The Indian Approach

I. Introduction

Arbitration is a voluntary method of dispute resolution. Consent has thus rightly been described as the "essential basis" of arbitration,¹ and, as the embodiment of that consent, the arbitration agreement is of foundational importance to the arbitral process.² International conventions and national law universally require the existence of a valid arbitration agreement to found the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal and, conversely, to permit awards to be set-aside or refused enforcement in the absence of such an agreement.³ In assessing that requirement, the existence of a written arbitration agreement is often the starting point for a complex jurisdictional analysis into who is bound by that agreement.