INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anuradha Mukherjee, Omar Ahmad, Vikram Shah and Soumya Dasgupta, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform Constitution of an Expert Committee The government of India set up an Expert Commit- tee in June 2023 to suggest changes to enhance the arbitration process. This Committee issued its report on 7 February 2024, suggesting the following, among other proposals: • amendment to the definition of “court”; • amendment to Section 6 of the Arbitration Act to include techno-legal utilities as suitable institutions to provide administrative assistance; • disclosure of the identity of non-parties in cases of third-party funding; and • modifications to provisions regarding appeals under Section 37 of the Arbitration Act. Certain amendments have been proposed to the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 through the Commer- cial Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The proposals include, among others, addition of new definitions and sections to address proceedings held electronically, constitution of dedicated commercial courts including those dealing with arbitration, etc. 14.2 Growth Areas While the Mediation Act, 2023 has contributed towards faster resolution of commercial disputes in a cost-effective manner, one of the main areas of growth for commercial disputes is technology disputes and breach of data protection clauses.
There is no provision for challenging a foreign award. However, the enforcement of a foreign award may be refused on the following limited grounds: • the award debtor was under some incapacity, or the underlying agreement is not valid under the applicable law; • the award debtor did not have proper notice of the arbitrator’s appointment or was unable to present its case; • the award deals with a subject that is beyond the terms of referral to arbitration; • the composition of the arbitral tribunal was con- trary to the agreement or the law of country where the arbitration took place; or • the award is not yet binding or has been set aside/ suspended in the country in which it was made. The enforcement of a foreign award may also be refused if the court finds that: • the subject matter of the dispute is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of India; or • the enforcement of the award would be contrary to the public policy of India. An appeal can only be filed if a court refuses to enforce a foreign award. However, if the court dismisses the objections against enforcement of the foreign award, no statutory right to appeal exists, but the aggrieved party may challenge said order before the Supreme Court by way of a special leave petition filed under Article 136 of the Constitution of India.
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