Seconding sentiments of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said retired judges dominate the appointment of arbitrators, overlooking other qualified candidates such as lawyers and academicians.

The Vice-President made these critical remarks while inaugurating the 6th ICC India Arbitration Day in New Delhi on Saturday. He observed that nowhere in the world is arbitration in such tight-fist control as in our country and there is a need to unshackle the system from this grip to make it credible and creditable. Earlier the CJI had remarked that the arbitration space in India resembles an “old boys’ club”.

According to a statement released by Vice-President’s Secretariat, Dhankar not only stressed the need to review the system of appointment, but also observed that judicial interventions in the country and elsewhere have reduced arbitration just as a tier in the normal litigation process. Therefore, the VP called for evolving a mechanism where the arbitration process does not suffer judicial interventions, the official statement stated.

‘Need to introspect’

“Time has come when we need to introspect, move forward by bringing about necessary changes, including if required by legislation,” Dhankar told the gathering and pointed out that the growing economy and fast-paced development require robust arbitration institutions.

The high growth trajectory would also lead to commercial disputes because people may have different perceptions about a particular point of view, he stated. We, therefore, require an arbitration system that is robust, fast, scientific, effective and delivers with the best of human brains, he stressed.

Listing many advantages of institutional arbitration as compared to an ad-hoc one, Dhankhar said the world economic order will go to greater heights and there will be equitable progress if the dispute resolution mechanism is fairly equitable and conclusive. “There has been some growth in our country for arbitrary institutions but those institutions need to take central space and necessary changes in law are required to be effected to make them all meaningful,” he noted.

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