By: K. S. Arartik, Aviral Pratap Singh, Aarushi Mehrotra, Usri Palchaudhari, Tia Malge. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - English Courts emphasise the importance of anti-suit injunctions (“ASIs”) in upholding party autonomy when Arbitration agreements are in place (Deutsche Bank AG v. Ruschemalliance LLC [2023] EWCA Civ 1144) – In three cases that came before English courts arising … Continue reading SEAL Quarterly Round Up Q4 2023

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS The Hong Kong court affirms the immunity of arbitrators from judicial obligations to provide evidence. (Song Lihua v Lee Chee Hong [2023] HKCFI 1954) In this case, the Court of First Instance delved into the issue of arbitrators' obligation to provide evidence during proceedings challenging their awards. Specifically, the case involved an application to … Continue reading SEAL Quarterly Round Up Q3 2023

By: Arunoday Rai Introduction Several clubs went into severe financial loss and entered into bankruptcy due to Covid-19. These clubs had incurred debts and the creditors received some of their claims through the creditors’ arrangement in the national bankruptcy proceedings. Some of the new clubs may reemerge as a ‘sporting successor’ of these bankrupt clubs. … Continue reading Can a creditor approach FIFA DRC following the bankruptcy proceeding?

By: Dhruv Kohli and Dharmvir Brahmbhatt Introduction The Delhi High Court recently in the case of Union of India v. Reliance Industries Limited & Ors. while upholding a 1.7 billion USD arbitral award classified an Indian seated arbitration between two Indian parties as an “International Commercial Arbitration” (“ICA”). The dispute finds it genesis between a … Continue reading Analysing the Delhi HC ruling in Union of India v. Reliance Industries

By: Deborshi Sarkar In the first part of the article, subsequent to an introduction the author has portrayed the issue pertaining to unilateral appointment of arbitrator post the 2015 amendment. Further, the author also analysed the fallacy in the persona designate approach adapted by the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. In this part the author aims … Continue reading To Appoint or not to Appoint Unilaterally? Part- 2

By: Deborshi Sarkar INTRODUCTION Recently, the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in Mcleod Russel v. Aditya Birla Finance Limited (hereinafter, ‘McLeod Russel’) has upheld a unilateral appointment of a sole arbitrator. The Court, while adjudicating on an application for termination of the arbitrator’s mandate took a steep deviation from the existing jurisprudence being followed by High … Continue reading To Appoint or not to Appoint Unilaterally?

By: Ayushi Yelimineti, Dalima Pushkarna, Lishika Sahni, Paras Tripathi, Aarushi Mehrotra, Abia Usmani, Aman Anand, Ananya Bhandari, Divyansh Gangwar and Nipun Sapru. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 1. Arbitration award set aside by South Wales Supreme Court to protect the integrity of the arbitration process. (Lieschke v Lieschke) In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of New South … Continue reading SEAL Quarterly Round Up Q1 and Q2 2023

By: Nidhi Ngaihoih [1] INTRODUCTION Consolidation refers to the ability to combine multiple arbitral proceedings, initially commenced separately, often against the same respondent State, into a single proceeding.[1] It mainly takes place between parties when there is an existence of a relationship, the subject matter of the dispute is common, and the underlying agreements between … Continue reading Invoking Arbitration in Consolidated Agreements

By: Yuman Islam and Ravit Singh Introduction In the recent case of M/s Oasis Projects Ltd. v. Managing Director, the Delhi Court has again opened Pandora’s box concerning pre-arbitration procedures and whether or not they are mandatory. The dispute in the case was regarding a clause that had mandated the parties to refer to conciliation before … Continue reading Solving the Legal Conundrum Around Pre-arbitration Procedures in India

By: Nisarg Bhardwaj Abstract - Multi-tier dispute resolution clauses are adopted by parties widely in order to facilitate an attempt to reach amicable settlement before arbitration. As hopeful as it sounds, the enforcement and recognition of such clauses have faced issues from courts across jurisdictions. Courts have adopted various approaches towards dealing with non-compliance with … Continue reading Non-Compliance with Multi-Tier Dispute Resolution Clauses – Conundrum for Indian Courts?

By: Gaurav Chaudhary The author would like to thank Kishan Gupta, an Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. In the previous part of this blog, the author analysed the doctrine's usage and problem associated with the way it is applied in the Indian legal landscape. In … Continue reading Questioning Conventional Wisdom: Reassessing the Application of the Group of Companies Doctrine in Indian Arbitration – II

By: Gaurav Chaudhary The author would like to thank Kishan Gupta, an Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. Introduction The Group of Companies doctrine (Hereinafter ‘doctrine’) is a legal principle that has come under immense scrutiny due to its prevalent usage in Indian arbitration and corporate … Continue reading Questioning Conventional Wisdom: Reassessing the Application of the Group of Companies Doctrine in Indian Arbitration – I

The blog is co-authored by Rashika Bajpai (associate at Khaitan & Co.) and Khushboo Sharma (a fourth-year student from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow, India). As ESG issues gain prominence, they raise new questions and challenges, including whether ESG disputes can and should be resolved through arbitration. This article examines the key considerations around the arbitrability of ESG disputes and the current state of the law in this area.

By: Vrinda Basu The author would like to thank Siddhant Ahuja, a Trainee Solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. Introduction Developed in the aftermath of the Cold War, the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) is a multilateral investment treaty signed by states (“Contracting Parties”) to enable global cooperation and stability in … Continue reading A Modernised Energy Charter Treaty: A step forward or two steps back?

By: Debarshi Chakraborty and Shashwat Awasthi The recent decision by the Calcutta High Court in Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. Ltd. v. Amrapali Enterprises and Anr. has raised concerns about the potentially disastrous outcomes of good intentions if not accompanied by prudent foresight. The case revolves around an application filed by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance … Continue reading Good Intentions Gone Awry: The Calcutta High Court’s Ruling in Cholamandalam v. Amrapali

By: Vaibhav Chaturvedi Introduction Under Section 10 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, parties are at liberty to decide the number of arbitrators forming the tribunal, given the exception that it should not be an even number. Although, a sole arbitrator would constitute a ‘tribunal’[1], but the current contention over majority award arises when … Continue reading Contentious Majority Award: Arbitrator’s Acknowledgement

By: Aviral Shrivastava Introduction International Arbitration was created as a technique to eliminate erroneous or time-consuming litigation, and since then it has earned widespread acceptance. Despite this, constructive debates of the cost-mechanism and, more specifically, issues linked with diverse interpretations of the Arbitration Clause and the Arbitration Agreement have been made. With this enhanced discernment, … Continue reading Applicability of CISG over FIDIC in Construction Arbitrations: A Tussle Over Interpretation

By: Priyanshi Bhageria The author would like to thank Parimal Kashyap, Associate AZB & Partners, Mumbai for his valuable comments and constant guidance on the draft. Introduction Recently, in Vag Educational Services v Aakash Educational Services, the Delhi High Court opined that an arbitral tribunal cannot recall the proceedings if its mandate is terminated under Section 32 of … Continue reading Arbitral Tribunal’s Power To Recall: A Hasty Judicial Creation?

By: Utkarsh Srivastava and Dhairya Kumar Introduction: Party autonomy is a concept which forms the centre to the arbitral process. The leeway to the parties in deciding the manner of adjudication of their dispute should be ensured given that the leeway is exercised within the scope of the national law on the subject applicable in the … Continue reading Session Digest: Two-Tier Arbitration in India: Validity and Insertion in the Indian Framework

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By: Abhimanyu Pathania and Devansh Dixit Introduction Party consent is one of the most important facets of arbitration under several international conventions. Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter, “the Act”] makes consensus ad idem essential for a valid arbitration agreement. Though infrequently, diverse legal theories have been applied to bind non-signatories … Continue reading Forced Arbitration: Examining Validity of the Group of Companies Doctrine in India

By: Ishika Chauhan and Yash Bhatnagar Introduction Online Dispute Resolution (hereinafter, "ODR") is an ever-rising tool in Alternative Dispute Resolution, especially after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With courts and dispute resolution institutes going virtual or 'online,' the question arises of the flexibility and sustainability of the concept itself. Moreover, there have been concerns … Continue reading Session Digest: Rise of Online Dispute Resolution and the Conundrum of Venue and Seat determination

By: Arun Nachiappan (Symbiosis Law School, Pune) Introduction UNCITRAL Working Group II completed talks on a convention and model law on the implementation of settlement agreements made through international commercial conciliation or mediation (Article 3 of the Convention) in February 2018 after three years of negotiations and deliberations in New York and Vienna. The UN … Continue reading The Effective Impact of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in India

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