Expert Committee Report on International Arbitration Centre at GIFT IFSC
An expert panel set up for drafting rules for an international arbitration centre at GIFT City has sought changes to arbitration and mediation laws to ensure swifter out-of-court dispute resolution in the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The panel has recommended a time limit of 21 days for filing an appeal against an arbitral award to avoid a backlog of cases. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act allows a window of 90 days for an appeal against an arbitral award. Further, appeals against an arbitral award to the Supreme Court should only be made via a Special Leave Petition (SLP).
The panel, led by former chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India M.S. Sahoo, has proposed that arbitrations seated at GIFT City should be considered as “international commercial arbitration” to encourage more foreign companies to invest in India. It has sought an amendment in arbitration laws to include the proposal. The panel also proposed explicit changes in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to allow parties—Indian or foreign—to opt for GIFT City or any other IFSC as the seat of the arbitration.
The committee discussed the implementation of a system of grading arbitrators, and all members, except chairperson Sahoo, disapproved of it.
