Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration celebrates 5 years of existence

The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) has completed five years of creating a space in international arbitration since its inception in 2016..Objective and role of MCIA.Established with an intent to be India's premier forum for commercial dispute resolution by employing arbitral rules based on international best practices while also keeping in view the Indian market, MCIA has achieved new feats in the past year. MCIA also provides for a dedicated Secretariat that facilitates efficient, cost-effective and impartial administration of arbitration proceedings..Surge in number of cases administered under MCIA Rules.Since the publication of its report in 2020, the MCIA has seen a 100% growth in the total number of cases being administered under the MCIA Rules throughout 2021. The Centre also received 20 new matters in 2021 of which 90% arose from contracts containing an ‘organic’ MCIA arbitration clause. The total value of disputes under administration exceeded ₹500 million. .The Supreme Court of India had first referred a matter using its power under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to the MCIA in 2017. In 2021, the apex court again referred two ad hoc arbitrations to be administered by the MCIA under the MCIA Rules..The Centre now has a presence pan-India, with new Secretariat offices in Delhi and Bangalore. The Inaugural India ADR Week 2021 held from April 6-10 saw the confluence of leaders from arbitration, mediation and ODR on one platform..Honing requisite skills in younger professionals.The Young MCIA, an organ of the Centre, was established with an intent to build a robust network of young professionals and students from India and around the world with an interest in international arbitration; maintain an online platform for networking; organising skill-based training programs to enable the young arbitration community to exchange views and take guidance from senior arbitration practitioners, among other objectives.Young MCIA further expanded and announced a new Steering Committee for the year 2021-23..Collaboration and expansion.MCIA also collaborated with WeWork India, to allow MCIA users access to arbitration hearing facilities at 35 spaces across 6 major cities in India as well as globally..In an attempt to further strengthen its base and reach, MCIA launched the MCIA User Council to provide feedback on the MCIA Rules and international arbitration process from users of arbitration across sectors..It also entered into multiple strategic partnerships to increase cooperation and reach across institutions and jurisdictions..2021 retiring members and new additions to the MCIA Council.The MCIA Council saw the retirement of two of its key members in 2021 - Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Cyril Shroff and arbitrator Dr Micheal Pryles. The Council added the following new members:1. Justice (retd) Gita Mittal - Former Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir;2. Haigreve Khaitan - Senior Partner at Khaitan & Co.;3. Shaneen Parikh - Partner, Head – International Arbitration, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas4. Yoshimi Ohara - Partner at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu.