Conference on Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes concludes in London

The third edition of the International Conference on Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes concluded in London last week. 

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, India’s Minister of State for Law and Justice (independent charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal, the UK Supreme Court’s Lord Michael Briggs, Indian Ambassador to the UK Vikram Doraiswami, President of the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) and Senior Partner at Khaitan and Co Dr NG Khaitan, ICA Director General Arun Chawla and Barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, London and Member of the ICA International Advisory Committee Karishma Vora attended the event. 

The CJI highlighted that India and the UK share the same legal heritage, and this synergy presents both countries with a unique opportunity to build robust, efficient and globally respected arbitration ecosystems. 

He said that India can also learn from the UK, which has some of the world's leading arbitral institutions such as the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

“These institutions are known for their access to the most eminent arbitrators, efficient, flexible and impartial administration of arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution,” the CJI said. 

He added that the UK, with its established reputation as a hub for commercial arbitration, and India, with its expanding economy and legal reforms, stand poised to deepen cooperation in this critical domain. 

“By promoting dialogue, encouraging joint institutional initiatives and building confidence amongst businesses and practitioners, we can create a seamless dispute resolution environment that will help both India and the UK.”

Lord Briggs pointed out the similarities and differences in the statutory arbitration regimes of both countries.

“Both of them are based on the UN Model Law. Each is centred on a 1996 Act, but the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act appears to have no real equivalent to the English Arbitration Act Section 69, which enables, unless precluded by the parties’ agreement, an appeal to the courts on a point of law, but only with leave and on stringent conditions which the commercial court rigorously applies. And the English Act has no exact equivalent to Section 34 of the Indian Act, which enables, among other things, an award to be set aside if it is in conflict with the public policy of India,” he said. 

Lord Briggs added that despite this, both the laws are embedded in a shared fabric of the common law, and that common law has for centuries recognised the right to a fair hearing in court.

He also expressed concerns about confidential arbitration gaining popularity in cross-border disputes. 

“…if that trend continues and expands, then the common law may become impoverished, with all the real legal action taking place behind closed doors in arbitration centres and written down in confidential arbitration awards, rather than in open courts with publicly available judgments. That is, unless a practice can be developed of arbitral awards being published in an appropriately redacted form.”

High Commissioner Doraiswami called the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between India and the UK the most ambitious one to date. He said that the agreement has opened up a range of services sectors in both countries. 

“Frankly, where you do more business, you will have more disputes. And if we recognise that the process of dispute resolution is what sets democracies apart from authoritarian states and dictatorships, then that also means more business for all of us,” the High Commissioner said. 

He further said that there has been a dramatic transformation and modernisation of India’s legal system over the last decade.

“We think the opportunity that is afforded by the transformation of India is today unique, because there is no other place in the world where so many millions of people are being lifted out of poverty and brought to prosperity in conditions of democracy than in India.” 

Vora underscored that trade connects India and the UK, and that the two nations’ legal systems have immense respect for each other. The comity between the two systems came to the fore in a case titled Malhotra & Malhotra, she recounted.

“I was lucky to be part of the legal case, and Justice Walker's judgment from the English High Court was adopted by Justice Patel of the Bombay High Court in a decision also called Malhotra and Malhotra. Wearing my hat, both as a counsel of the Bombay High Court and a barrister of England and Wales, I have not only benefited from this trade, but I am grateful for the comity that both nations and legal systems have shown to each other,” she said. 

Further, Vora said that Chief Justice Gavai and Lord Briggs are leading the way in resolving commercial disputes, and that reforms in Indian laws have been given a thrust in the past few days. 

Meanwhile, Meghwal said that India and the UK are enjoying one of the strongest phases in their bilateral relations, and the recent signing of the FTA between the two nations marks a historical milestone. He underscored that the two countries can set high standards for the way disputes are resolved. 

“By working together, they can build a framework which is fair and transparent and inspires business confidence on both sides."

Chawla, in his opening remarks, underscored that,

“The base and promise of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is unmistakable: to enhance bilateral trade to USD 120 billion by 2030. This ambition is supported by greater services interoperability and increased professional mobility, especially for legal professionals, which holds particular significance. Legislative reforms in both jurisdictions are working tirelessly to advance this vision.”