ADR301 | Alternate Dispute Resolution

The Indian court system has been clogged with delays and the number of cases that are filed before the courts have only been on the rise. There has been a great push by the government and other stake holders to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), especially Arbitration and Mediation / Conciliation for quicker resolution of disputes.

There has been an increase in cross border trade and foreign investment in the last few decades, which has resulted in parties opting for resolution of commercial disputes through arbitration. There has also been a shift to promote institutional arbitration as opposed to ad-hoc arbitration, although in common law countries like India, a substantial percentage of arbitrations are still ad-hoc. Almost all the leading international institutions in the world have revised their Rules to adopt user and business friendly practices.

India has been an attractive country for foreign investment. However, given the uncertainty that was hitherto prevailing regarding arbitration procedure and enforcement of awards in India, foreign companies were sceptical about choosing India as a seat of arbitration. The Government of India, with a view to a making India an arbitration friendly jurisdiction, amended the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 in 2015. Further, in order to overcome the challenges faced by the users of arbitration in the application of these amendments, further amendments were made in 2019 and more recently in March 2021. While significant measures are being taken to make India a favourable forum for international arbitration, it will take some time to change the image of India as a suitable place for international arbitration but it is hoped it will happen soon. That said, there are lot of international arbitrations taking place in India. Further, many Indian parties are involved in international arbitrations seated outside India. Arbitration has been used for domestic disputes arising in various sectors for several decades now, but it has recently become more efficacious with time limits prescribed for the making of an award under the 2015 and 2019 amendments.

This course will provide the students an understanding of various ADR processes, including recent developments in arbitration and mediation. There will also be an overview of the practice and procedure of leading arbitral institutions, where appropriate.  The endeavour is to equip the students with basic knowledge of ADR which will act as a guide when they enter the legal profession, irrespective of whether they choose dispute resolution or corporate practice as their area of specialisation.