New Delhi: The Government worked out the amendments to the law of Arbitration being the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, for ending delays and eliminating high costs in a bid to provide ease of doing business and also the Government is finalising a National policy for cutting down on litigation.
The initial plans for bringing out the ordinance for quickening the things was dropped and the Amendment Bill’s draft for amending arbitration law could come up shortly and will tabled to the Parliament soon in the upcoming Monsoon session thereof, as per Mr. D. V. Sadananda Gowda, the present Law Minister, Government of India.
Mr. Gowda further said that the shedding of the tag of being the single biggest litigant in various Countries’ Courts, is desired by the Government. And as stated by him, there are 46 % of cases in the Higher Judiciary, where the Government is a litigant, as per informal estimates.
It is made clear by sending the International Business Community a massage that in India the lengthy and prolonged proceedings of arbitration will soon to become a past thing, as per Law Minister.
Mr. D. V. Gowda was informing the said in an interview to the media. And in his statements, he further said that amendments to the arbitration law being “stringent” in his words, proposed to bring to end the proceedings within a given period and also there will be very less interference of Courts. And also the decision as to fees structure of the Presiding Arbitrator will be made soon in the initial 1st sitting itself, as told by Mr. Gowda, and he also treated the decision as to fees structure as of important as due to non- fixation of which, the arbitrators used to prolong matters without any other reasons.
Mr. Law minister, has denied to accept that the existing delay in relation to bring the amendments to the law of Arbitration has served to sent a wrong message to the International Community on Business.
Notably, on the 29th day of December, 2014, the Parliament had cleared the Ordinance on such amendments, however, for the assent of honourable President of India, the same was not sent. And as to the pendency of matters, it was seen by the year 2011 that there were more than fifty seven thousands of cases pending before the Apex Court of India and throughout 24 High Courts in the country, there were more than forty two lacks of cases pending.