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The Mumbai-based Indian Merchants’ Chamber, a 3,000-member association, is in the process of establishing an international Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre at a cost of ₹6 crore to render arbitration, conciliation and mediation services.
The services offered would be similar to those provided by international ADR centres in Singapore, Paris and London.
“We have decided to go in for the Singapore model. The Bombay High Court is supporting ADR in a big way. The Chief Justice is all for it. He says there should an ADR system in place and that there are lawyers who have a thriving parallel practice in arbitration,” said Shailesh Vaidya, President of IMC, who is also a senior advocate.
On the legality of the mechanism, Vaidya said there is a provision in the Arbitration Act that the High Court can appoint an institute as a recognised arbitration centre.
An advisory committee is being formed under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Sujata Manohar. It will guide the steering committee of the centre on framing the rules of arbitration and selecting a panel of arbitrators. Senior counsel and arbitrators experienced in handling international cases would be in the committee.
The Chamber will also set up a separate company under Section 25 of the Companies Act to undertake the activities of the centre.
On advantages of ADR, Vaidya said merely for filing papers, one need not call for a hearing as in court. An expert team of secretariat staff would do all the preliminary paperwork. Only then, the arbitration would begin.
More importantly, the arbitration process would be time-bound. Within a timeframe, depending on the matter, the arbitrator will have to give an award.
The High Court may also refer cases to the centre. The fees would be determined by what the Chamber designates as the right structure.
Interestingly, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has opened a liaison office in Mumbai.
According to SIAC’s 2013 annual report, the highest number of filings was by Indian parties. Over the last four years, Indian parties filed 85 cases at SIAC. For new cases filed in 2013, the total sum in dispute amounted to S$6.06 billion ($4.8 billion). The highest claim amount for the year was S$3.5 billion.
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