NEWS: Highlights if the Arbitration Council of India (ACI) has been set up for real and its working procedure is sufficient
Arbitration matters for India
- Arbitration = Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) outside regular courts
- Helps in: Reducing judicial backlog, faster dispute resolution, improving Ease of Doing Business
- India aims to become a global arbitration hub
Arbitration Council of India (ACI)-Legal origin
- Proposed under 2019 amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
- Intended as the central regulator and promoter of institutional arbitration
- Current status: Not yet constituted, even six years after the 2019 amendments
Proposed mandate of ACI
Based on recommendations of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee (2017)
Functions:
- Promote and reform arbitration practice in India
- Grade and accredit arbitral institutions
- Recognise professional bodies accrediting arbitrators
- Maintain a repository of arbitral awards
Concerns about institutional independence
- Government dominance: Most members appointed or nominated by the Union government-Creates a conflict of interest
- Experts warn that a government-dominated ACI would: Grade arbitral institutions, accredit arbitrators
- Singapore & Hong Kong: Arbitration managed by single, independent institutions
- Power to accredit unlimited number of arbitral institutions → quality dilution
Draft Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 propose
- Redefinition of “arbitral institution”: Any body conducting arbitration under its own rules, Departure from 2019 framework
- Expanded powers for arbitral institutions: Institutions can: Extend time limits for arbitral awards, reduce arbitrators’ fees for delays
- Limits court intervention
- Introduces emergency arbitration