Arbitration

Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism in which parties agree to submit a dispute to one or more neutral arbitrators, whose binding decision, called an "award", is made outside the ordinary court system. In India, arbitration is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law and has been refined by the 2015, 2019 and 2021 amendments.

Key features

• Private and consensual: it rests on an arbitration agreement, which must be in writing under Section 7 of the Act.
• The arbitrator acts as a private adjudicator; parties may choose the number of arbitrators (not an even number) and, in default, courts or arbitral institutions appoint them under Section 11.
• Generally faster and more flexible than litigation, with parties choosing the seat, procedure and language.

Legal basis and timeline

Section 29A requires a domestic tribunal to make its award within 12 months of the completion of pleadings, extendable by six months with party consent and further only by the court. An award can be challenged on the limited grounds in Section 34, and once the challenge period lapses it is enforceable as a decree of a civil court under Section 36.

Institutions

Institutional arbitration is available through bodies such as the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), the Indian Council of Arbitration, and the statutory India International Arbitration Centre. A draft Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 proposing emergency arbitration and an appellate arbitral tribunal was under consultation and had not yet become law as of 2026.