In brief
A commercial contract that contains an arbitration clause does not belong in a civil suit by default. We draft the clause, run the reference, and take the award through challenge or enforcement, in India and where a foreign award has to be recognised.
Discuss this matter
The clause
Drafted and read before a dispute exists, not after.
The reference
Pleadings, evidence, and the hearing before the tribunal.
The award
Challenge, defence, and enforcement, including foreign awards.
The brief
What clients ask us
Choose a question. The answer sets out the work we actually take in this practice, in plain language.
Answer
The clause decides the doorway. Inside it, the disputes are the ones that arise from how a business was actually carried on.
- Breach of contract
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Construction projects
- Intellectual property and finance
- International commerce
- Shareholders and joint ventures
- Energy, telecom, and real estate
- Wider commercial and financial disputes
Which disputes do you take to arbitration?
Answer
The clause decides the doorway. Inside it, the disputes are the ones that arise from how a business was actually carried on.
- Breach of contract
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Construction projects
- Intellectual property and finance
- International commerce
- Shareholders and joint ventures
- Energy, telecom, and real estate
- Wider commercial and financial disputes
Will you draft the clause and help appoint the arbitrator?
Answer
A clause written in a hurry is the dispute. We draft and review it, and we handle the appointment when the other side will not concur.
- Drafting and review of arbitration clauses
- Advice on a named arbitrator
- Petitions asking a court to appoint an arbitrator
What do you do once the arbitration has started?
Answer
The reference is a full proceeding. Pleadings, evidence, and the hearing are prepared as carefully as a suit, because the award is what you will have to live with.
- Statements of claim and defence, and the rest of the pleadings
- Evidence, gathered and presented
- Representation at the hearing
- Advice on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and its procedure
Can the court protect the subject matter while the arbitration is pending?
Answer
Yes. Interim protection from a court is available for a reason: an award is of little use if the asset or the money is gone before it is published.
- Applications for interim measures
- Mediation or conciliation, where a settlement is still realistic
How are awards challenged or enforced?
Answer
An award is not self-executing. It can be defended, it can be set aside on the grounds the Act allows, and it has to be put into execution. A foreign award has an extra step.
- Challenging an award, and defending one
- Enforcement of domestic awards
- Enforcement of foreign awards
The path
How a matter moves
01
Read the clause
Seat, institution, number of arbitrators, and the scope of the reference are settled first.
02
Constitute the tribunal
We invoke the clause and, if needed, ask the court to appoint.
03
Plead and prove
Claim, defence, documents, and witnesses are prepared for the hearing.
04
After the award
The award is enforced, or it is challenged on a ground the statute actually contains.
Before you instruct us
Questions on this practice
The contract has no arbitration clause. Is it too late?
Parties can still agree to refer an existing dispute. If they will not, the claim stays in court. We will tell you which of the two the other side is likely to accept.
Can an arbitration be kept confidential?
A private reference is not a public cause list. Court applications for appointment, interim relief, or enforcement can put parts of the dispute on a public record.
Do you act in international commercial arbitration?
Yes, including disputes with a foreign element and the enforcement of foreign awards in India.
Is mediation worth trying before the hearing?
When the commercial relationship still has a number both sides can live with, yes. We use it as a decision, not as a delay.
How is this different from your ADR practice?
This page is the arbitration of corporate and commercial disputes, end to end. The ADR practice also covers mediation, conciliation, negotiation, and Lok Adalat.
These answers describe the practice. They are not advice on the facts of your matter.
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