Arbitration

Almost every serious commercial contract in India now carries an arbitration clause — construction, supply, franchise, employment, joint ventures, property development. Arbitration can be faster and quieter than court, but only for parties who know how the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 actually operates.

What we handle

• Commencement of arbitration — invocation notices, constitution of tribunals, and applications under Section 11 for appointment of arbitrators before the High Court.
• Interim measures (Section 9) — injunctions, asset preservation and security orders from the courts before, during or even after arbitral proceedings; and Section 17 orders from the tribunal itself.
• Party representation in arbitral proceedings — statements of claim and defence, evidence, expert coordination, and oral hearings before sole arbitrators and tribunals, in ad hoc as well as institutional arbitrations (DIAC, MCIA, SIAC and others).
• Challenges to awards (Section 34) — applications to set aside awards on the narrow, well-defined grounds of patent illegality and perversity recognised by Indian courts — and defence of valid awards against opportunistic challenges.
• Enforcement (Sections 35 — 36) — making an award a decree of court, and executing it.
• Urgent interim protection — applications to emergency arbitrators and courts, including in time-sensitive infrastructure and construction disputes.

The arithmetic of an arbitration clause

Before you sign, three questions matter more than any other: which seat and venue (it decides which courts can intervene), which institution (it decides rules, costs and speed), and what is carved out. The chamber reviews and negotiates clauses before signature, so you never discover their weaknesses inside a dispute.