Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

It is designed to be, and the statute sets a timeline for making the award. In practice the gain depends on the tribunal, the co-operation of the parties, and whether either side takes ancillary applications to court. It is usually more predictable, and usually more expensive per hearing.

If a suit is filed in the face of a valid arbitration clause, the other side can apply to have the parties referred to arbitration, and the court will ordinarily do so. Courts remain available for specific supporting functions — interim measures, appointment of an arbitrator, and enforcement.

The grounds are narrow: they concern matters such as the validity of the agreement, want of proper notice, the tribunal exceeding its remit, and conflict with the public policy of India. A challenge is not a re-hearing of the dispute on its merits.

It matters a great deal. The seat fixes which court exercises supervisory jurisdiction over the arbitration — which court hears an application for interim measures, for the appointment of an arbitrator, or to set the award aside — and it fixes the procedural law of the reference. The venue is only where hearings are physically convened, and it can be changed for convenience without moving the seat. Where a clause names a place without saying which of the two it means, the question becomes one of construction, and it is usually contested at the least convenient moment.

Yes. An application under Section 9 can be made before arbitral proceedings commence, as well as during them and after the award but before enforcement. Where the application is made before commencement, the court will ordinarily require the arbitration to be set in motion within the statutory period, so the two steps are planned together rather than one after the other.