Commercial arbitration in India and abroad

Commercial arbitration in India is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, amended in 2015, 2019 and 2021 to reduce court intervention and speed up awards. An arbitration lawyer's work runs through three stages: constituting the tribunal, presenting the case before it, and dealing with the courts before and after the award.

The practice is involved with arbitral institutions including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the International Court for Commercial Arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Indian Council of Arbitration.

Subject areas the practice works with

The firm's arbitration and litigation practice works closely with these areas:

• Contract and business law, and commercial, corporate and trade laws
• Shipping, maritime and admiralty
• Oil and gas, energy and mining
• Construction and infrastructure
• Government contracts
• Telecommunications and IT
• Finance and banking law
• International law and international trade
• Intellectual property, and entertainment and media
• Property and real estate
• Antitrust and trade regulation
• Indirect taxation
• Aviation and transportation
• Constitutional law

How a case moves under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act

1. Reference (Section 8). If a party sues on a matter covered by an arbitration agreement, the court must refer the dispute to arbitration when the other party applies no later than its first statement on the substance, unless it finds prima facie that no valid agreement exists.
2. Interim relief from court (Section 9). Before or during the arbitration, or after the award until it is enforced, a court can secure the amount in dispute, preserve assets or grant an injunction. Where protection is granted before the arbitration begins, proceedings must start within 90 days.
3. Appointment (Section 11). If the agreed procedure fails, the High Court appoints the tribunal in a domestic arbitration and the Supreme Court in an international commercial arbitration, looking mainly at whether an arbitration agreement exists.
4. Interim measures by the tribunal (Section 17). Once constituted, the tribunal can grant the same kinds of interim measures as a court, and its orders are enforceable as if they were orders of the court.
5. Time for the award (Section 29A). In a domestic arbitration, pleadings must be completed within six months of the arbitrators' appointment and the award made within twelve months after that, extendable by six months by consent and beyond that only by the court.
6. Setting aside (Section 34). An award can be challenged within three months of its receipt, plus up to thirty days for sufficient cause, on limited grounds: incapacity, an invalid agreement, lack of proper notice, matters beyond the reference, an improperly constituted tribunal, non-arbitrability, conflict with the public policy of India and, for domestic awards, patent illegality. The court does not re-examine the merits, though since a 2025 Constitution Bench ruling it may modify an award in narrow cases, such as severing an invalid part or correcting a clerical error.
7. Enforcement (Section 36). An award is enforced like a decree once the time to challenge it has expired. A pending challenge does not stay it automatically; the court may grant a stay on conditions, usually a deposit or security in money awards.
8. Appeals (Section 37). Only listed orders are appealable, including refusals to refer parties to arbitration, orders on interim measures, and orders setting aside or refusing to set aside an award. There is no second appeal, though the Supreme Court can still be approached.

International arbitration and foreign awards

An arbitration is an international commercial arbitration under the Act where at least one party is foreign. If it is seated in India, Part I of the Act applies. If it is seated abroad, for example under ICC, LCIA or SIAC rules, Indian courts can still grant interim relief under Section 9 unless the parties have agreed otherwise.

Part II gives effect to the New York Convention. A foreign award made in a country that India has notified as a reciprocating territory is enforced by petition to the High Court, and enforcement can be refused only on the narrow grounds in Section 48. Once the court is satisfied, the award is deemed a decree of that court.

Arbitration clauses, State contracts and mediation

Many arbitrations are shaped years earlier, when the clause is drafted. A workable clause names the seat (not merely a venue), the number of arbitrators and how they are appointed, the rules, the language and the governing law. The Supreme Court has held that a party with an interest in the outcome cannot alone appoint a sole arbitrator, and that a clause making the other side choose from a panel curated by one party offends equal treatment. Criminal, matrimonial and insolvency matters cannot be sent to arbitration, however the clause is worded.

In Chhattisgarh, disputes under works contracts with the State Government and its undertakings may have to go to the State's statutory arbitration tribunal, the Madhyastham Adhikaran, rather than to arbitration under the 1996 Act, so the contract and the State law should be read together before a notice is sent.

Mediation often settles what arbitration would take years to decide. Commercial suits must first go through pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 unless urgent interim relief is sought (see civil and commercial litigation), and Parliament has enacted the Mediation Act, 2023 to give mediation a statutory framework. Multi-tier clauses can build negotiation and mediation into a contract before arbitration begins.

If a dispute is heading towards arbitration, or an award needs to be challenged or enforced, the firm can be reached through the contact page.