India’s Arbitration Regime: An Overview

I.               Introduction: India’s historic role in International Commercial Arbitration

India had a prime role in laying the foundation of modern-day arbitration. It was amongst the six Asian nations to have signed the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927¹ As noted jurist, Mr. F.S. Nariman points out – none from the Americas subscribed to it.² Later, in July 1960, India was amongst the 10 original signatories to the New York Convention and the fourth country to ratify the same. The USA ratified the New York Convention a full 10 years later in 1970 and the UK in 1975. China and Singapore ratified the Convention fairly recently, in the mid-1990s.

India’s role as a founding jurisdiction got lost in the mist of time, chiefly as (till recently) it did not attract sufficient cross border investment and was not a significant player in cross-border commerce.