India must address ethics, education, court systems to become preferred arbitration seat: VK Rajah

India needs to get its house in order on three key aspects before it can become a preferred seat for international arbitration, observed former Judge of the Court of Appeal of Singapore and former Attorney-General for Singapore, VK Rajah. .Given India's talent pool, Indian law firms should be looking first within before looking at the larger world for arbitrators, the former judge said. However, he added that this is not possible until India addresses three areas to get its house in order - ethics, education and the court system.On ethics, he highlighted that when it comes to ad-hoc arbitration, which is the norm in India, many in the legal profession feel that there are many obstacles for accountability."This is because of historical reasons. But if you don't take steps now to inject confidence in both the domestic and international arbitration scene, what I describe as a possibility (India being preferred arbitration seat globally) will become an impossibility. The move towards international arbitration must be accelerated," he said..He stated that in Singapore, it is believed that self-regulation is a myth. Instead, India needs to find a system where both arbitrators and counsel are accountable, he said. .Rajah was speaking at the closing session of Delhi Arbitration Weekend (DAW) 2024 held at the Delhi High Court. He spoke on the theme, "Building a Safe Arbitral Seat: Harmonizing National Interest and International Expectations.".While speaking on the education aspect, Rajah highlighted that he did not see a single Indian academic at DAW."My friends here tell me there is no Indian arbitration course at a master's level worthy of its name. Students have to go to UK, New York or Singapore," he added..He emphasized that India should produce a world-class LL.M. program for arbitrators. He also stated that academics should be allowed to practise as counsel or as arbitrators."You need the academics. They are a pillar of any arbitral ecosystem. They are the ones who write, communicate, and give life to your work," he added..VK Rajah, former Attorney-General of Singapore, on how India can become an international arbitration hub [Interview].On the court system in India, Rajah agreed with Justice Rohinton Nariman that arbitration cases in courts should be heard by specialised division benches. Rajah said that he would go even further and suggested the designation of High Courts in three cities to be the only places where international arbitration judgments can be set aside or enforced.To ensure that no monopoly is created, he suggested rotating the judges, training them, and sending them to seminars so that every three or four years there will be changes and the best judges will move on to the Supreme Court."The need for specialisation, for consistent and predictable jurisprudence is critical for India to become not just a safe but a preferred arbitral seat," Rajah said..Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal was also present at the session. In response to criticism of India's underdeveloped arbitration landscape, he drew parallels between Lord Krishna and an arbitrator."What was Lord Krishna? I hear people say arbitration in India is not developed. A lot of times, parties are Indian but the seat it outside India. What was Lord Krishna? Was he not an arbitrator or mediator? When the Kauravas and Pandavas were at war, Lord Krishna went to them as an arbitrator, right? I think he was the greatest arbitrator of this world," he said..Referring to VK Rajah's comments on the need of ethics, Meghwal said, "About ethics. Will somebody else teach us Indians ethics?"He narrated a story where Chanakya was doing government work and told a visitor from China to wait for a while before meeting him. Once his work was done, Chanakya put out the lamp he was using and instead lit another one. When asked why he did so, Chanakya explained that the first lamp, its oil, and wick were used for government work only. "This was the level of our ethics. What happened to that? We need to think about that," he said.He further claimed that Indians were not far behind in education as well. "That is why Lord Macaulay proposed to sabotage it. Our court system was also very good. We had great arbitrators like Krishna. The Kauravas didn't listen and Mahabharat happened," he added.