Two Indian Parties Opting For Foreign-Seated Arbitration: No Bar?

• Madhya Pradesh High Court upholds arbitration agreement mandating two Indian Parties to take recourse to a foreign-seated arbitration with foreign substantive law;
• Holds that the resultant award would be a 'foreign award', as envisaged under Part II of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996;
• This is a step forward in the longstanding debate on whether arbitration proceedings between two Indian entities can be seated in a foreign country.

Background

The Madhya Pradesh High Court ("Court") in its recent decision in Sasan Power Ltd v. North America Coal Corporation India Pvt Ltd¹ has held that two Indian parties may conduct arbitration in a foreign seat under English law.