The Ring Fencing Of Judicial Intervention In Arbitration Proceedings

The equilibrium in party autonomy and judicial intervention

The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (referred as ‘Arbitration Act') has predicated on the principle of “party autonomy”, “settlement of disputes” with “minimal judicial intervention” during an arbitration proceeding. The Courts have time again made multiple attempts to dilate the judicial intervention in arbitration matters and the classic example of the same is Section 11 of the Arbitration Act i.e., Appointment of Arbitrators. Section 11 of the Arbitration Act clearly demarcates the scope of judicial intervention only when there is a deadlock or a failure of the parties to follow the appointment procedure. In a sense it can be said that Section 11 of Arbitration Act intents to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties to settle their dispute by arbitration in situations where the partes fail to appoint an arbitrator.