5. Brief note on tribunals

As per the strategy paper given by Niti Aayog in 2018, there were 29 million cases pending in Indian courts, and at that time it was said that it would take more than 324 years to clear that backlog with the number of judges that were appointed. Now the pendency has risen to 44 million cases and there are only 21.03 million judges over 1 million people in  the country. These statistics are somewhat worrisome. Considering such a situation, people nowadays are considering alternate ways of dispute resolution and ‘arbitration’ is one such way.

Arbitration is an alternative method provided for dispute resolution in civil matters. It is a way in which a dispute is decided by private individuals appointed and not the judicial officers appointed to the courts and tribunals of the country directly. These private individuals are called arbitrators, and they are quasi-judicial officers. However, all the matters cannot be decided by way of arbitration. Such matters involve matters related to crimes, matrimony, insolvency and winding up, guardianship, tenancy, testamentary matters, trusts, etc. This bifurcation is made by keeping in mind the kind of right affected, i.e., ‘right in rem’ or ‘right in personam’ and also the jurisdiction of special courts and the analysis of public policy.

Whenever a dispute arises between two parties and they decide to resolve the dispute through arbitration, an arbitral tribunal is to be set up. An “arbitral tribunal” means a sole arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. Their task is to adjudicate and resolve the dispute and to provide an arbitral award.

In this article, all the details and information about the arbitration tribunals are discussed.

Composition of Arbitral Tribunal

Chapter-III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 talks about the composition of the arbitral tribunal. 

The provisions which are discussed in detail in Chapter-III are mentioned below-

1. The number of arbitrators
2. Their appointment
3. Power of the Central Government to amend the schedule
4. Grounds on which the appointment of the arbitrator can be challenged
5. Procedure to challenge the appointment
6. Failure or impossibility on the part of the arbitrator to act
7. Termination of the mandate and substitution of the arbitrator

The number of arbitrators should be odd and not even. It helps in determining the clear majority of the tribunal and avoids any sort of discrepancy in that regard.

Also, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 provided for the establishment of the Arbitration Council of India with the view of promoting the other alternative dispute redressal mechanisms such as arbitration, mediation and negotiation. Also, the composition as well as the functions of the council were provided in the same amendment Act.

Composition of the Arbitration Council of India

It consists of a Chairperson who is either:

• A judge of the Supreme Court 
• A judge of a High Court 
• Chief Justice of a High Court
• An eminent person with expert knowledge in the conduct of arbitration.  

Other members will include an eminent arbitration practitioner, an academician with experience in arbitration, and government appointees.

src: Source of the notes