India's Arbitration Regime since 2015, 2019 and 2021 Amendments: An Analytical Study

Abstract

The arbitration regime in India has been significantly overhauled with the amendment in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 in 2015, 2019 and 2021. The reforms were intended to limit the judicial intervention, improve institutional arbitration, speed up dispute resolution and make India a preferred choice for conducting international commercial arbitration. The 2015 Amendment represented a major change, imposing strict time limits, reducing the power of the court to interfere and clarifying the nature of the public policy in enforcing foreign awards. The 2019 Amendment went on to institutionalise arbitration through its attempts to create the Arbitration Council of India and the promotion of professional arbitral bodies. The 2021 Amendment made strides to tackle issues of fraud and corruption, allowing for unconditional stay of arbitral awards in rare situations. This article analyses these changes in the Indian arbitration regime critically and assesses their efficacy in terms of efficiency, neutrality and global competitiveness. The study also examines the judicial attitude towards amendments and how they have affected international commercial arbitration in India. The reforms represent India's efforts to move towards its goal of making the country arbitration friendly and in line with the arbitration standards of the world, but some procedural and institutional issues have yet to be addressed to ensure that the country becomes one hundred per cent arbitration friendly. The article ends with recommendations for changes to be made to enhance India's position as a global arbitration centre.