SC judge calls for institutionalised arbitration

Expressing disappointment over piling up of arbitration cases in the country due to lack of infrastructure and availability of judges, Supreme Court judge Deepak Gupta on Saturday called for institutionalised arbitration and inculcating use of technology to bring down delays in disposal of cases.

"We have almost three crore cases of arbitration. Lack of infrastructure and lack of judges could be factors why the cases of arbitration could not be solved in a time frame," he said at the 'Judges and Lawyers conference on Strengthening Arbitration in India: The Way forward' here on Saturday.

The judge in his address at the event also called for an institutionalised arbitration in the country.

 

"Institutionalised arbitration must be a full-time activity. Full-fledged arbitration bar must be there. Courts interfere during procedural issues. We have to improve the quality of pleadings and I am in favour of setting up specialised arbitrators," he said.

An institutional arbitration is one in which a specialised institution intervenes and takes on the role of administering the arbitration process. Every institution has its own set of rules which provide a framework for the arbitration and its own form of administration to assist in the process.

"..Cases which could be identified for arbitration are commercial cases. In any commercial dispute, the cost must be commensurate with the case," Justice Gupta said.

He also said that with the growing economy such disputes are bound to rise. "India is one for the fastest growing economies in the world. If it is growing, then disputes will rise," the judge said.

The SC judge further said that there is also a need for engineers in the arbitration panel to resolving engineering disputes in arbitration cases.

He also believed that technology could make the judicial system more efficient.

"Technology is one aspect that we are not using. A lot of work can be done on video conferencing or email. Institutionalise arbitration and the procedural following must be there for a successful arbitration. You have to use technology for speedy disposal of arbitration cases," he said.