On August 9, 2019, the President of India gave his assent to the
amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
('Act') and the same has been published in the Official
Gazette of India. Some of the key highlights of the Arbitration and
Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 ('Amendment Act') are
set out below:
i. Arbitral
Institution
Section 1(ca) has been introduced to define an 'arbitral
institution' as an arbitral institution designated by the
Supreme Court or a High Court under the Act.
ii. Appointment of
Arbitrators under Section 11
The Amendment Act empowers the Supreme Court (in the case of an
international commercial arbitration) and the High Court (in cases
other than international commercial arbitration) to designate
arbitral institutions for the purpose of appointment of
arbitrators. Such arbitral institutions will be graded by the
Arbitration Council of India (discussed below). Where a graded
arbitral institution is not available, the Chief
