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and court proceedings. ADR is perceived as remedy to cope of the case. The parties to the arbitration have some con-
up with the accelerating volumes of litigations and mount- trol over the design of the arbitration process. There is more
ing arrears. flexibility with arbitration process than in the traditional
court system as the parties can facilitate the creation of an
Alternative Dispute Resolution - the Meaning of it - arbitral process than in the traditional court system.
According to Black's Law Dictionary: 4. Arbitration - As per Indian Context:
1) Alternative means: Giving an option;
2) Dispute means: conflict or controversy; Scope and rules for the arbitration process are set out
3) Resolution means: formal expression of an opinion. broadly by the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation
Act, 1996 (A&C ACT).
Thus ADR: For resolving a justifiable controversy an option Salient features that emerge out are as below:
other than the conventional method. 1. In the Arbitration Proceedings, arbitrator assumes full
"What does a developed nation need to have in place to control of the process.
attract foreign institutional investors?
2. Greater participation by the parties than in the case of
The answer lies in ADR"- said Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. court/tribunal system
Alternative Dispute Resolution - Methods Adopted: 3. Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996
ADR methods such as MEDIATION, NEGOTIATION and AR-
BITRATION along with many sub-strategies are increasingly 4. Earlier,the Arbitration Act, 1940 was in force, which
being employed all throughout the world in a wide-range became outdated.
of conflict situations.
5. Law Commission of India, Representative bodies of the
In the current Indian statutory context, ADR strategies Trade and Industry and experts in the field of arbitra-
means amended provisions (s. 89 CPC), Arbitration and Con- tion have proposed amendments to the Act to make it
ciliation Act, 1996, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and more responsive to the contemporary requirements.
other cognate legislations.
6. A&C Act, 1996 came into force repealing 1940 Act,
3. Arbitration - Meaning: Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act,
1961 and Arbitration Protocol and Convention Act,
Arbitration is one of the ADR strategies employed in dispute 1937.
resolution in India and abroad.
Parts of the A & C Act:
In simple terms: "Arbitration is a process in which a neutral
third party or parties render a decision based on the merit Part I: deals with Arbitration, Arbitration Agreement, Com-
position and constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, Jurisdic-
tion, Conduct of the proceedings, making of an award, En-
forcement, Appeals
Part II: deals with Enforcement of certain foreign awards
Part III: provides for conciliation
Definitions (Section 2):
Arbitration Agreement: means an agreement by the par-
ties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which
have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of
a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not;
Arbitration Award: includes an interim award;
Arbitral Tribunal: means a sole arbitrator or a panel of ar-
bitrators;
Party: means a party to an arbitration agreement
The Insurance Times, March 2016 23
