Arbitration Bar of India will provide human capital, promote diversity in arbitration and take it to smaller towns: Gourab Banerji

The Arbitration Bar of India (ABI) was inaugurated on Saturday at the Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. .External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and ABI President Gourab Banerji graced the occasion. .Speaking on the occasion, Banerji said that India has made tremendous progress in the arbitration landscape with arbitration being made time bound and courts becoming less interventionist. He said that the inauguration of ABI marks the fruition of the idea to set up a dedicated arbitration bar."It is due to the efforts of a number of people on and off the dais," he said. He outlined the goals of ABI one which would be to promote and increase diversity in arbitration. "A major goal is diversity and equal opportunity in arbitration. We have taken the equality pledge. Our executive committee and office bearers have a significant representation of women. We have a special woman's chapter. You will hear more about that soon," he said.He also said that a question has often been asked on why another body on arbitration is required.He answered the question by explaining what ABI is what and it proposes to do. "We are not an institution but a bar. We are a pan-India organisation and an association of individual arbitration practitioners - people who specialise in arbitration. We don't intend to the take on (other arbitration) institutions. We want to complement them by providing them with human capital," he explained.On the other goals of ABI, he said,"One of our goals is to promote excellence, professionalism, ethics and promote arbitration nationally and internationally. Then is to address Arbitration being limited to select few and increase the pool of competent younger arbitrators to take that on. Third is to establish a network for sharing insights and setting up standards," he said. One other goal of ABI is to increase the pool of arbitrators and to increase the pool of competent younger men and women who can take that on..He also said that ABI would guide the next generation and influence policy reforms to make arbitration more cost effective.Pertinently, he said that ABI won't be a Delhi based setup."We have a pan- India scope. Our advisors are from Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Our executive committee has geographical and gender diversity. We are aiming to reach out to towns and cities that have not yet benefited from recent developments in arbitration," Banerji added..Banerji also recounted that not so long ago arbitration used to be a part time activity to be conducted after court hours in a leisurely manner.There would be umpteen hearings and arbitral awards would rendered after years and many times after decades, he said.However, things have changed."Nowadays, I am approached by bright young lawyers who want to make arbitration a full time career who seek advice and guidance," Banerji stated.He expressed hope that setting up of ABI would be a major step in that direction..Specifically on the importance of arbitration, he said that efficiency of the dispute resolution process has a huge impact on the Indian economy and the global perception of doing business in India. He referred to a Niti Aayog paper which talked about steps to improve arbitration landscape in India. Among those steps, it had suggested restructuring the legislative, executive and judicial fronts. "There we have done very well. So far as the legislative and executive fronts are concerned, there has been a massive change in the last six years and the Government of India has been extremely proactive," he said. In this regard, he referred to the amendments made to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in 2015 and 2019 which have given impetus to arbitration. "We have had two substantial amendments (to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act) - 2015 and 2019 amendments. The effects of those amendments are there for everyone to see. Particularly, there is a provision by which arbitrations have been made time bound. So it has had a major impact. The government has done its bit," he said.Similarly, as far as courts are concerned, there has been a sea change."From being perceived as obstructionist, the pendulum has swung in favour of arbitration. Supreme Court has delivered a number of landmark judgments," he said..We have also made advancements in terms of infrastructure, he said highlighting the establishment of India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC).However, he said that the most important element is human capital and this is where the ABI would play a significant role."Having worked with the younger generation here and abroad, I have no hesitation in saying that our upcoming lawyers are supremely talented and can match up to the best in the world. They need a little bit of support and little bit of help," he stated.Banerji concluded his speech by thanking Attorney General R Venkataramani for his support."He has gone far beyond his role. You cannot imagine the amount of interest he has taken," Banerji stated.He also thanked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Honorary President Justice Hemant Gupta. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.