High Courts ko laga bada jhatka!
Ab se, agar koi international commercial arbitration ka case hai, toh usmein arbitrator appoint karne ka right sirf Chief Justice of India (CJI) ke paas rahega. Madhya Pradesh High Court ne saaf-saaf keh diya hai ki High Courts iska appointment nahi kar sakte. Yeh baat Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ke Section 11(9) aur 11(12) mein likhi hai, aur court ne bola ki yeh rules mandatory hain.
Ssangyong Engineering case mein hua bada gadbad!
Yeh ruling South Korea ki Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Company Limited aur India ki SB Engineering Associates ke beech chal rahe dispute ke baad aayi hai. Hua yun ki, Ssangyong ne contract cancel karne ke baad ek arbitrator appoint karwaya tha jo High Court ne kiya tha. Lekin Ssangyong ne Supreme Court mein challenge kiya aur bola ki international case mein yeh power sirf CJI ki hai. Court ne Ssangyong ki baat maan li aur 2016 mein aaye arbitration award ko hi invalid kar diya! Court ka kehna hai ki agar arbitrator appoint karne ka process hi galat hai, toh uske baad jo bhi decision aaya hai, woh shuru se hi invalid hai.
Foreign companies ke liye nayi musibat?
Is ruling ka matlab hai ki agar koi foreign company India mein kisi Indian party ke saath business kar rahi hai aur unke beech arbitration ka case banta hai, toh arbitrator appoint karne mein bahut careful rehna padega. Agar appointment process mein zara si bhi galti hui, toh pura arbitration award cancel ho sakta hai, chahe woh kitne bhi saalon se chal raha ho. Yeh decision foreign investors ke liye dispute resolution ko aur bhi complex bana sakta hai.
