Why do BRICS countries produce so few global arbitrators, asks Law Min Ravi Shankar Prasad

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad provided some indication of the future or arbitration in the county at a recent conference organised by the Ministry of Finance, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Indian Council of Arbitration..Centred on the theme of International Arbitration in BRICS, the conference was also attended by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. .Ravi Shankar Prasad in his speech stressed that dispute resolution mechanisms should keep in mind concerns of “locals”. He said that Indian experience with bilateral treaties is that their interpretation has many times been ambiguous. He praised the Indian judiciary for the fine judges it has produced but also lamented that despite good judges, there were very few international arbitrators from BRICS nations..“I am very proud of our judiciary. India has produced some of the finest judges. But why do we see very few arbitrators from BRICS countries in the word dispute redressal mechanism? Why should there be a presumption that fast alternative arbitration can come and come only from arbitrators who are from the western world?”.The inaugural session was followed by three sessions which saw participation of delegates from the BRICS nations..Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave the valedictory speech. Jaitley said that a task force needs to be constituted comprising experts from BRICS nations to consider establishing arbitration centres in the BRICS nations..The Finance Minister’s recommendation was apt for the occasion, given the fact the other sessions also witnessed discussion surrounding establishment of arbitration centres in BRICS nations on par with the western counterparts.