Arbitration Centre opens tomorrow

Tomorrow, a center of arbitration on the lines of the London Council of International Arbitration and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre will be inaugurated in the Delhi High Court. The brainchild of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi, Justice A.P. Shah, the objective of the center is to bring transparency and reliability to fore..Tomorrow, a centre of arbitration on the lines of the London Council of International Arbitration and the Singapore International Arbitration Center will be inaugurated in the Delhi High Court..Arbitration, a vehicle for alternative dispute resolution, lost popularity on account of high operating costs and low enforceability. The former because of a lack of an India based council of arbitration. Most arbitrations being conducted in India are ad hoc, and under the rules of the Indian Arbitration Act..International Commercial Arbitrations however, given the high value, are usually not arbitrated in India. Singapore and London are the most popular destinations for arbitration considering the efficiency. However, cost effectiveness remains an issue..Arjun Harkauli a lawyer practicing at the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, however is sceptical. “Right now the details available are sketchy and I don’t understand what was the pressing need to have an arbitration centre at the High Court. There are several institutional arbitration centres in Delhi itself,” he says..The Arbitration Center scheduled to be inaugurated tomorrow is aimed to bring down the number of pending arbitration matters and to provide an efficient and cost effective measure as an alternative to arbitrate abroad. The brainchild of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi, Justice A.P. Shah, the objective is to bring transparency and reliability to fore..Gagan Kawatra, the Executive Director of the FICCI sponsored Indian Council of Arbitration says, “Institutional arbitration is always beneficial”. Speaking about the Indian Council of Arbitration, he says, “We have been around for about 40 years, and our cause is to ensure the settlement of disputes. We want to make sure that business is promoted.”.The governing council of the center has Senior Counsels such as Dushyant Dave and Rajeev Nayyar.