Disputes & Arbitration: FAQs

A dispute of the kinds listed in section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, such as disputes arising from transactions of merchants and traders, export and import, construction and infrastructure, franchising and licensing, technology development, partnerships, shareholders’ agreements, insurance and intellectual property, where the specified value is ₹3 lakh or more. Such disputes go to the Commercial Courts and the Commercial Divisions of the High Courts.

Yes, unless the suit seeks urgent interim relief. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act requires pre-institution mediation, and the Supreme Court has held the requirement mandatory (Patil Automation, 2022) and that courts may check whether a claim of urgency is genuine (Yamini Manohar, 2023). Mediation must be completed within three months, extendable by two, and the time is excluded from limitation.

Thirty days from service of the summons, which the court may extend, but no written statement can be taken on record after 120 days from service. The Supreme Court confirmed the outer limit in SCG Contracts v. K.S. Chamankar (2019).

Generally three years from the date the claim arises, under the Limitation Act, 1963. The exact starting point depends on the claim, for example the date of breach or the date payment fell due.

Yes. Under section 8 (for arbitrations in India) and section 45 (for foreign-seated arbitrations), a court must refer the parties to arbitration if there is an arbitration agreement. The court looks only at whether an agreement exists on a prima facie basis; other questions are for the tribunal.

No. The Supreme Court held in Perkins Eastman Architects v. HSCC (2019) that a party with an interest in the outcome cannot unilaterally appoint a sole arbitrator, and a Constitution Bench held in 2024 that appointment procedures giving one party control over the tribunal offend the requirement of an independent and impartial tribunal.

The seat determines which country’s and which court’s law supervises the arbitration; the venue is simply where hearings take place. In BGS SGS Soma v. NHPC (2019) the Supreme Court held that where a clause names only a “venue”, it will usually be treated as the seat unless there are contrary indications.

For a domestic arbitration, the award is due within twelve months of the completion of pleadings, extendable by six months by consent and further only by the court (section 29A). For international commercial arbitrations seated in India, the time limit is only an aim.

Yes, under section 9. If it does, arbitral proceedings must begin within 90 days of the order. Once the tribunal is constituted, the court will ordinarily not entertain a section 9 application unless the remedy before the tribunal would not be effective; the tribunal itself can grant interim measures under section 17.

An award in an India-seated arbitration can be challenged under section 34 within three months of receipt, extendable by 30 days for sufficient cause, on limited grounds. Courts do not review the merits. Filing a challenge does not automatically stay enforcement.

An award made in a country notified by India under the New York Convention is enforced by the High Court under Part II of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Enforcement can be refused only on the narrow grounds in section 48, and an order allowing enforcement cannot be appealed. The application must be made within three years.

An emergency arbitrator’s order in an India-seated arbitration is enforceable as an order of the tribunal under section 17(2), as the Supreme Court held in Amazon v. Future Retail (2021). An emergency order made in a foreign-seated arbitration is not directly enforceable; the party must seek interim relief from an Indian court under section 9.

Sometimes. A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court confirmed in Cox & Kings v. SAP India (2023) that the group of companies doctrine is part of Indian law, so a non-signatory may be bound where the parties’ conduct shows a common intention to bind it.

Yes. Under the Mediation Act, 2023, a signed mediated settlement agreement is final and binding and can be enforced in the same way as a judgment or decree of a court. A settlement in pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act has the status of an arbitral award on agreed terms.

A money judgment of a superior court of a “reciprocating territory” notified under section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure, such as the United Kingdom, Singapore or the UAE, can be executed as if it were an Indian decree. A judgment from any other country, including the United States, must be sued on in a fresh suit.