Many judges not equipped to handle commercial cases; training needed: Justice N Kotiswar Singh

Supreme Court judge Justice N Kotiswar Singh on Saturday stated that India’s commercial courts established under the Commercial Courts Act, are struggling due to a lack of specialised judges and the burden of handling cases from jurisdictions..He said that most judges are "generalists" and not specialists who have domain expertise in commercial law and are hence, not equipped to deal with commercial matters..“Judges are generalists not specialists. Unless you have a large pool of experts on commercial law it’s difficult. In many places, commercial courts are doing work of other jurisdictions. Many judges in the judiciary are not equipped to deal with commercial disputes," he said.Therefore, he called for imparting training to judges hearing commercial disputes. "It is very important that we must impart training to the judge in commercial disputes,” he urged..The apex court judge was participating in a fireside chat with Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan and Advocate Payal Chawla (founder of the law firm Juscontractus) on the topic 'The PSU Dilemma: Reshaping India’s Commercial Dispute Landscape'.The discussion was organised by the Women’s Chapter of the Arbitration Bar of India. The discussion began with government’ memorandum issued in June 2024, which requires all government departments and entities to exclude arbitration clauses from domestic procurement documents, replacing them with mediation or litigation-based dispute resolution mechanisms..It is very important that we must impart training to judges in commercial disputes. We must first identify judges who are likely to be posted in commercial courts and give training.Justice N Kotiswar Singh.Justice Singh expressed concerns over the memorandum, stating that it weakens the arbitration movement. “Arbitration is just one part of the challenges faced by the Indian judiciary. We have been trying to reduce pendency through mediation and Lok Adalats, but this move is not the right solution,” he said.Noting that the alternative to arbitration is the commercial courts, Justice Singh expressed concerns over the functioning of commercial courts. He also highlighted how there is a lack of proper infrastructure in courts. “I have been requesting judicial academies also about training judges on handling commercial disputes. We must first identify judges who are likely to be posted in commercial courts and give training. And of course we need better infrastructure. The amount allocated to judiciary in the Union Budget is woefully inadequate,” he stated. .To build trust in arbitration and increase accountability of arbitrators, Justice Singh suggested that arbitral orders be made publicly available. He also proposed that arbitrator appointments be handled by institutions to prevent bias.“All judicial orders are uploaded. In arbitration this is not the case. We must work out a mechanism where details of orders are uploaded. The moment it’s put in public domain there is more accountability. We must have a centralised system like we have in judiciary,” he opined..The amount allocated to judiciary in the Union Budget is woefully inadequate.Justice N Kotiswar Singh.Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan provided a nuanced response, stating that the government’s approach contradicts its push for ease of doing business. "The notification is a contradiction. The government should take the bull by the horns and try to fix the system rather than withdraw from it," she remarked.However, she also highlighted a fundamental lack of professionalism in arbitrations, citing cases where arbitrators conducted multiple proceedings simultaneously. Divan also noted that while government gets a good hearing in the Courts, same is not the case with arbitration. “We really need to fix the system. All the stake holders have to work in tandem. There is so much work in India, popular arbitration hubs source work from outside but we have so much work locally. We do need the court system to come together to ensure a smooth passage,” Divan said. She stressed that India has the potential to become a top arbitration hub for which for specialist arbitration bars and trained arbitrators are necessary.“We have top law schools, skilled lawyers, and a mature bar. What we lack is a structured, professional arbitration ecosystem,” she said..Retired Justice Hemant Gupta, who was also present, clarified that the memorandum applies only to procurement contracts and not all PSU agreements. “A judicially trained mind must unlearn certain legal principles to be an effective arbitrator,” indicating that arbitration requires a different skill set than traditional judging..The panelists agreed on the urgent need for specialized training for judges and arbitrators, better infrastructure, and institutional support to strengthen arbitration. Divan urged stakeholders to collaborate to achieve the desired results. “We must fix the system rather than abandon it. India has the talent and the cases—what we need is a concerted effort to streamline the process,” she opined.