Constitute Arbitration Council of India NPAC writes to Union Law Minister R.S.Prasad.
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Nani PalkhiWala Arbitration Centre (NPAC) has written a letter addressing to the Union Minister law and Justice Mr. Ravi Shanker Prasad, requesting him to take necessary initiatives for the constitution of the Arbitration Council of India.
In 2017 a High-Level committee chaired by Justice BN SAIKRISHNA, recommended for an independent body called the Arbitration Council of India.
On August, 9 2019. The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act was notified in the gazette of India, Section 84 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 empowers the Central Government to make rules to carry out provisions of this Act.
The Department of Legal Affairs had prepared the following draft rules
- The Arbitration and Conciliation (the salary allowances and terms and Conditions of Chairperson and Members) Rules2020;
- The Arbitration and Conciliation (the travelling and other allowance payable to part-time Member) Rules 2020;
- The Arbitration and Conciliation (the qualifications, appointment and other terms and conditions of the service of the Chief Executive Officer) Rules,2020;and
- The Arbitration and Conciliation (the number of officers and employees of the Secretariat of the Council and the qualifications, appointment and other terms and conditions of the officers and employees of the Council) Rules, 2020.
The purpose of the Arbitration Council was to frame policies for grading arbitral institutions, accrediting arbitrators in India, and updating norms to ensure the satisfactory level of arbitration.NPAC has written.
With an aim to make India international Arbitration hub, the Council was also tasked with the responsibility to hold training. Workshops and courses in the area of arbitration, this was added.
The law commission of India in its 246th Report on the “Amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996”was the non-proliferation of the concept of institutional arbitration in India.
The institutional arbitration has become the need of the hour and Law Commission of India has strongly recommended Government of India to consider the formation of a specialized body like the “Arbitration Commission of India”.
The letter further mentions that “Thereafter, A High-Level Committee was set up to review the institutionalization of the Arbitration mechanism in India. The said committee chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna issued report in 017 in the said report, the committee proposed certain recommendations aimed at (a) improving the overall quality and performance of arbitrational institutions in India and (b) improving India’s perception as a seat of arbitration in order to encourage people to arbitrate in India using Indian arbitral institutions.
NPAC stated that it is of the wide belief that the constitution of the Arbitration Council will immensely help in improving the standards and quality of Arbitrations in India, thereby embodying a positive step towards making India into a hub for arbitrators.
[Read Letter]
