Arbitration

Unilateral Appointment of an Arbitrator – A Point of View

Payal Chawla and Hina Shaheen The appointment of an arbitrator by one party to an arbitration agreement has been a vexed issue. The pre-amended Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) permitted such appointments, with certain limited exceptions. That these unilateral appointments have been the cause of much angst and litigation is not in dispute. The […]
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“Saving arbitration from arbitration costs”. Is Third Party Funding the answer?

Payal Chawla and Aastha Bhardwaj Originally appeared in Bar & Bench, 19.12.2017 As arbitrations enhance in India, so will arbitration claims and their quantum. There will be a consequent rise in arbitration costs, be it legal fees, arbitrators’ fees, security on costs, and/or costs payable by the unsuccessful party. Arbitral costs can be exorbitant, and […]
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The revival of the Indemnity

Payal Chawla This article was first published in Bar and Bench on 17.11.2017 In India, while the contracts of indemnity are perhaps the most negotiated clauses in a contract, they are paradoxically the least litigated. The paucity of legal precedence on this subject may be one of the reasons, despite some early pronouncements on the […]
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Limitations on Arbitral Procedure

Payal Chawla It is common knowledge that an arbitral tribunal is not bound by the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This is enshrined in s.19(1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (ACA). S.19(1) has sometimes been misunderstood as to its scope and whether the Code and the Evidence […]
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Designation of Seat is akin to Exclusive Jurisdiction

Payal Chawla In a welcome recent decision of Indus Mobile Distribution Pvt. Ltd. v. Datawind Innovations Pvt. Ltd. [(2017) 7 SCC 678], the Hon’ble Supreme Court provided the much-needed clarity on the juridical seat in relation to domestic arbitration. Brief facts of Indus Mobile: The appellant (Indus Mobile) and respondent No. 1 (Datawind Innovations) entered into a contract whereby […]
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