INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Amit Mishra and Mitakshara Goyal, Svarniti Law Offices
7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators Under the ACA, an arbitrator in India possesses a range of powers to ensure effective dispute resolu - tion, including the authority to make binding awards, grant interest where a debt is payable and rule on their own jurisdiction, as provided by Section 16, which is derived from the UNCITRAL Model Law. In Olympus Superstructures Pvt. Ltd. v Meena Vijay Khetan , the Supreme Court affirmed that arbitrators can determine their jurisdiction, including objections to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement, and that the arbitration clause is treated as independent from the rest of the contract. Arbitrators can also: • grant interim relief (Section 17); • determine procedural rules (Section 19); • decide the place and language of arbitration (Sec - tions 20 and 22); • manage statements of claim and defence (Section 23); • conduct hearings and written proceedings (Section 24); • seek court assistance for evidence (Section 27). They have powers related to awards and settle - ments (Section 30), terminating proceedings (Section 32), correcting and interpreting awards (Section 33), imposing interest and handling deposits (Section 38), setting remuneration, and exercising a lien on awards and costs (Section 39). • address party defaults (Section 25); • appoint experts (Section 26); and Alongside these powers, arbitrators have essential duties. They must treat parties equally and remain impartial (Section 18), focus solely on the dispute at hand, adhere to the Act’s provisions, respect public policy, observe time limitations, and ensure proper remuneration. Arbitrators are obliged to provide rea - soned awards, uphold principles of natural justice, recuse themselves when necessary, act within their jurisdiction, avoid fraud or misconduct, and ensure finality and reasonableness in their decisions. They must act judicially, follow justice equity and good conscience (Section 28), decide disputes according to law, render accounts (Section 38), consider trade usages (Section 28 (3)) and facilitate settlements
(Section 30), and may decide ex aequo et bono if so empowered (Section 28). 7.4 Legal Representatives Indian law does not require parties appearing before arbitral tribunals to be represented by lawyers, nor does it prescribe any specific qualifications for rep - resentatives. This means parties can choose to rep - resent themselves or appoint anyone to act on their behalf during arbitration proceedings, including indi - viduals with subject matter expertise. Recent regulatory changes have clarified and formal - ised the participation of foreign lawyers in Indian-seat - ed arbitrations. The Bar Council of India now allows foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in India, but strictly for non-litigious matters involving foreign law, international law and arbitration, especially in the con - text of international commercial arbitration. Foreign lawyers may represent clients in such arbitrations, provided the dispute involves foreign or international law, or the party they represent has a principal office or address outside India. However, foreign lawyers are expressly prohibited from practising Indian law, appearing before Indian courts, or engaging in litiga - tion or statutory proceedings in India. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence In Indian arbitration, the procedure for collecting and submitting evidence is largely governed by party autonomy. For ad hoc arbitrations, parties are free to agree on the process; for institutional arbitrations, the applicable rules of the chosen institution (such as DIAC) will apply. If the parties do not specify a pro - cedure, the arbitral tribunal determines the process, ensuring flexibility and efficiency. Section 19 of the ACA expressly states that arbitral tribunals are not bound by the Code of Civil Proce - dure or the Indian Evidence Act. This gives tribunals considerable discretion to decide on the admissibility, relevance and weight of evidence, and to tailor the process to the needs of the dispute.
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