The Lok Sabha gave has passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021. The bill was passed on February 12, 2021 by voice vote.
Background
The Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on February 4, 2021. The provisions of the bill were, however, already into force through an ordinance that was promulgated on November 4th, 2020.
Highlights
The law minister highlighted that; India wants to be an excellent hub for the arbitration. So, the government has passed the bill and is working in direction of making India a big hub for domestic and international arbitration.
Provisions of the Bill
- The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021 deal with the domestic and international arbitration.
- It also defines the law to conduct the conciliation proceedings.
- It replaces the ordinance containing same provisions that was promulgated on 4th November, 2020.
- The bill will amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
- With the amendment, the bill will enable automatic stay on awards in some cases.
- The bill will also omit the eighth schedule of the act that specify through the regulations of qualifications, experience and norms of the accreditation of arbitrators.
- Under the amendments, a stay on the arbitral award may be provided by the Court. It can be provided even during the pendency of the setting aside application.
- The bill also amends the section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996
This act regulates the domestic arbitration in India. This act was amended in the year 2015. It’s another amendment was passed in Lok Sabha in August 2019.
Arbitration
It is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In this mechanism, the disputes are resolved outside the courts. The disputes are decided by one or more persons called the ‘arbitrators’. The arbitrators give the arbitration award which stands legally binding on both sides. The award is also enforceable in the courts. It is often used to resolve the commercial disputes particularly related to international commercial transactions.