ELP Arbitration Weekly Update

There is a lot of uncertainty with respect to the applicability of the amended provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to court proceedings arising out of arbitrations commenced before October 23, 2015 (i.e. the date when the amendments were introduced). Conflicting judgments have been delivered by different High Court’s on this issue. This issue arose once again before the Bombay High Court (‘the HC’) in the context of Sections 34(5) and 34(6) of the Act in the case of Global Aviation Services Private Limited v. Airport Authority of India.

The HC held that the requirement of a prior notice under Section 34(5) to be directory, and thus not a ground for vitiating an application under Section 34 of the Act. Further, the HC also opined that the amended provisions of the Act would not be applicable to any arbitral proceedings (whether before a tribunal or the court) where the notice invoking arbitration had been issued prior to October 23, 2015, unless the parties had agreed to be bound by the Act and any statutory amendments thereto.

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