Read Time: 03 minutes

Inaugurating the fourth edition of the international conference on “Arbitration in the era of globalization" today, the Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana, said that the investors can trust Indian Judiciary for its absolute independence and its inherent constitutional strength to treat all parties equally.

Talking about arbitration, CJI Ramana, quoting American Jurist Evil Anger, said that "arbitration is a time-bound mechanism structured for immediate relief." 

CJI added that no one should be able to say about arbitration what Anger said about traditional litigation i.e. "an incompetent lawyer can a delay trial for months or year, a competent lawyer can delay it even longer."

In addition to this, CJI Ramana suggested a few essential prerequisites for arbitration to be effective and successful:

1. Scope for judicial interference from pre-reference stage to challenge an award needs to be minimized;
2. Timelines for completion of Arbitral procedure process should be strictly adhered to;
3. Execution of arbitral awards needs to be ensured;
4. Autonomy of the parties need to be respected;
5. Mechanism for regulating the arbitral fees has to be in place;
6. Grounds for challenge to the arbitral award should be minimized; and
7. Granting of stay at the award should not become a norm; etc.

Concluding his address, CJI Ramana said that there is a future both in India and Dubai tending towards institutionalized arbitration.