The Boundaries Of Arbitration: Confidentiality And Judicial Restraint

Arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism widely rests on the principles of party autonomy, privacy and minimal judicial intervention. Yet, Courts have time and again been called upon to resolve disputes over who gets to participate in the arbitration proceedings and how far the Court's hand can stretch once the arbitral tribunal is in place. Recently, the Supreme Court in Kamal Gupta & Anr. vs. M/s L.R. Builders Pvt. Ltd & Anr. Etc.¹ addressed both the issues ruling that arbitration belongs to the parties who agreed to it and that once a court appoints an arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 ("Act") they have no further jurisdiction to intervene.