June 2, 2026

The Enforceability Conundrum: Navigating Seat Supremacy and Judicial Intervention – Part II

ENFORCEMENT REALITIES AND THE TERRITORIAL CONFLICT IN CROSS-BORDER ARBITRATION Section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act envisages refusal of enforcement of a foreign award on grounds including violation of natural justice and conflict with public policy. It is necessary for narrowly construing public policy and not expansively. In the present matter, this criterion appears to be exceeded. Private dispute resolution […]

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April 16, 2026

Contractual Limits on Arbitral Power: The Supreme Court’s Reconsideration of Bharat Drilling

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, in The State of Jharkhand v. The Indian Builders, Jamshedpur (2025), reopened the question of whether arbitral tribunals may award claims expressly barred by contract. In doing so, it referred Bharat Drilling & Foundation Treatment Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand (2009) to a Larger Bench. This marks a significant development in Indian arbitration jurisprudence, with contractual consent being viewed as the primary source for arbitral jurisdiction. This blog examines the rationale behind Bharat Drilling, situates the referral within the Supreme Court’s evolving emphasis on party autonomy, and reflects on its implications for public procurement and fiscal governance.

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March 21, 2026

Regulating India’s Arbitral Institutions: Assessing the Proposed Section 12A’s Unprecedented Approach

Introduction   In 2024, an Expert Committee on Arbitration, released a Report recommending reforms to the Arbitration andConciliation Act, 1996 [“the Act”]. The Report proposed ambitious amendments:  resolving persistent judicial controversies, such as the Post NN Global-III debate, by suggesting to allow tribunals to proceed on unstamped agreements with deferred stamp duty payment; addressing statutory gaps by proposing provisions on emergency arbitration and third-party funding. Further, it also proposed bold structural reforms, including scrapping Section 11A and the Fourth Schedule’s arbitrator fee […]

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January 22, 2026

When Silence is Just as Loud: The Perils of Missing the Notice of Dissatisfaction

This article examines recent Indian jurisprudence regarding the mandatory nature of Nature of Dissatisfaction (“NoD”) timelines under the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (“FIDIC Contracts”) and similar contracts and reflects on how this has evolved into a threshold issue that must be addressed before any arbitral tribunal can be engaged. The authors will also discuss the possibility of invocation of the Atlantic Shipping clause as a defence in such Indian cases. The piece will end establishing that jurisprudence on the mandatory nature of NoD is well-settled so far in India. The authors will refer to the FIDIC Yellow Book, 1999 edition, primarily because most disputes currently in the Indian legal system still follow the 1999 edition rather than the 2017 edition.

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January 15, 2025

THE EMPLOYABILITY OF BLOCKCHAIN IN INDIAN ADR POST DPDP ACT

By Pragya Richa Tiwary [Authors is a student at Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur] Abstract The legal domain is advancing and adapting itself to the contemporary tech driven world. In alignment with such evolutions, Alternate Dispute Resolution has advanced to being Online Dispute Resolution. To enhance efficiency and reduce pendency, employing blockchain technology in out of court settlements is suggested. […]

Uncategorized 0 8 min read