Thursday, August 5, 2010

International Commercial Arbitration In India

International commercial arbitration (ICA) in India has not taken the shape it deserves to be. As a result other countries have established themselves as the hub for ICA whereas India is still trying to reform it arbitration law.

The Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 governs the arbitration and mediation regime in India. It has become outdated and requires good amendments to attract ICA in India. At the same time the traditional litigation methods of dispute resolution are not very helpful for high staked commercial disputes. There is an urgent need to bring suitable legal and judicial reforms in India.

One factor that has resulted in inadequate ICA in India is India’s reluctance to use information and communication technology (ICT) for dispute resolution. This has resulted in a limited growth of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in India. ICA can be greatly benefited by the use of ODR in India.

Till now only private professionals are having necessary infrastructure and expertise regarding ODR services in India. For instance, techno-legal firm Perry4Law is the only institution that is providing techno-legal ODR services in India through its online dispute resolution centre of India. We need more initiatives on the lines suggested by Perry4Law.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law the Law Ministry of India is in the process of revamping its alternative dispute resolution laws and it would be a good idea to make it a comprehensive and technology driven legislation.

We need some really innovative ideas that can bring necessary legal and judicial reforms in India. Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) has suggested some innovative technological methods to resolve this problem. The chief among them are use of ODR mechanism and e-courts in India.

The Law Minister Mr. Veerappa Moily must adopt these innovative ideas and must make them a part of the national litigation policy of India (NLPI).