Tag: Section 11 of the Arbitration Act

In the past, the Supreme Court has examined what would transpire in the event an arbitration agreement was not duly stamped. The Supreme Court, in the case of M/S Sms Tea Estates P.Ltd v. M/S Chandmari Tea Co. P.Ltd (“SMS Tea Estate Decision”), when examining an application under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) held that, a court before admitting any contract into evidence or acting upon the contract, needs to examine whether the contract has been duly stamped. ......

Arbitration that was once supposed to be the panacea for the woes of litigation, has now become complex and expensive due to several factors, such as ‘multiplicity’ of tribunals, awards, references and challenges arising among the same parties, contracts or series of contracts. Multiple arbitrations before different tribunals has led to the increase in “multiplicity of arbitral tribunals”. ......

In the context of arbitration, the terms “seat” and “venue” have very specific meanings. However, judicial interpretation over the years have created confusion as to the actual understanding of the same. In India, over the course of the past two years, we have seen conflicting decisions with respect to interpretation of arbitration clauses and determining the “seat of the arbitration”. In light of that, the recent decision of the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Mankastu Impex Private Limited V Airvisual Limited (“Mankastu”) has attained utmost significance. ...

The theory of separability for arbitration agreements has been developed over time. It has been well recognized in India and other jurisdictions that an arbitration clause in a contract is an agreement independent of the contract executed between the parties. This theory of separability of an arbitration agreement has well elucidated by the Supreme Court of India in the case of M/S Sms Tea Estates P.Ltd v. M/S Chandmari Tea Co. P.Ltd...