Arbitration And Conciliation Act, 1996

Appointment of conciliators

Number of Conciliators

Saving Notwithstanding anything contained in section 61, any conciliation proceeding initiated in pursuance of sections 61 to 81 of this Act as in force before the commencement of the Mediation Act, 2023, shall be continued as such, as if the Mediation Act, 2023, had not been enacted.

Reference of conciliation in enactments (1) Any provision, in any other enactment for the time being in force, providing for resolution of disputes through conciliation in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall be construed as reference to mediation as provided under the Mediation Act, 2023. (2) Conciliation as provided under this Act and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), shall be construed as mediation referred to in clause (h) of section 3 of the Mediation Act, 2023.]

Saving Nothing in this Chapter shall prejudice any rights which any person would have had of enforcing in India of any award or of availing himself in India of any award if this Chapter had not been enacted.

Appealable orders (1) An appeal shall lie from the order refusing— (a)   to refer the parties to arbitration under section 54; and (b)   to enforce a foreign award under section 57, to the court authorised by law to hear appeals from such order. (2) No second appeal shall lie from an order passed in appeal under this section, but nothing in this section shall affect or take away any right to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Enforcement of foreign awards Where the Court is satisfied that the foreign award is enforceable under this Chapter, the award shall be deemed to be a decree of the Court.

Conditions for enforcement of foreign awards  (1) In order that a foreign award may be enforceable under this Chapter, it shall be necessary that— (a)   the award has been made in pursuance of a submission to arbitration which is valid under the law applicable thereto; (b)   the subject-matter of the award is capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of India; (c)   the award has been made by the arbitral tribunal provided for in the submission to arbitration or constituted in the manner agreed upon by the parties and in conformity with the law governing the arbitration procedure; (d)   the award has become final in the country in which it has been made, in the sense that it will not be considered as such if it is open to opposition or appeal or if it is proved that any proceedings for the purpose of contesting the validity of the award are pending; (e)   the enforcement of the award is not contrary to the public policy or the law of India. [Explanation 1.— For the avoidance of any doubt, it is clarified that an award is in conflict with the public policy of India, only if,— (i)   the making of the award was induced or affected by fraud or corruption or was in violation of section 75 or section 81; or (ii)   it is in contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian law; or (iii)   it is in conflict with the most basic notions of morality or justice. Explanation 2.— For the avoidance of doubt, the test as to whether there is a contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian law shall not entail a review on the merits of the dispute.] (2) Even if the conditions laid down in sub-section (1) are fulfilled, enforcement of the award shall be refused if the Court is satisfied that— (a)   the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made; (b)   the party against whom it is sought to use the award was not given notice of the arbitration proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to present his case; or that, being under a legal incapacity, he was not properly represented; (c)   the award does not deal with the differences contemplated by or falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration or that it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration : Provided that if the award has not covered all the differences submitted to the arbitral tribunal, the Court may, if it thinks fit, postpone such enforcement or grant it subject to such guarantee as the Court may decide. (3) If the party against whom the award has been made proves that under the law governing the arbitration procedure there is a ground, other than the grounds referred to in clauses (a) and (c) of sub-section (1) and clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) entitling him to contest the validity of the award, the Court may, if it thinks fit, either refuse enforcement of the award or adjourn the consideration thereof, giving such party a reasonable time within which to have the award annulled by the competent Tribunal.  

Evidence (1) The party applying for the enforcement of a foreign award shall, at the time of application produced before the Court— (a)   the original award or a copy thereof duly authenticated in the manner required by the law of the country in which it was made; (b)   evidence proving that the award has become final; and (c)   such evidence as may be necessary to prove that the conditions mentioned in clauses (a) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 57 are satisfied. (2) Where any document requiring to be produced under sub-section (1) is in a foreign language, the party seeking to enforce the award shall produce a translation into English certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular agent of the country to which that party belongs or certified as correct in such other manner as may be sufficient according to the law in force in India. [Explanation.—In this section and in the sections following in this Chapter, “Court” means the High Court having original jurisdiction to decide the questions forming the subject-matter of the arbitral award if the same had been the subject matter of a suit on its original civil jurisdiction and in other cases, in the High Court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from decrees of courts subordinate to such High Court.]

Foreign awards when binding Any foreign award which would be enforceable under this Chapter shall be treated as binding for all purposes on the persons as between whom it was made, and may accordingly be relied on by any of those persons by way of defence, set off or otherwise in any legal proceedings in India and any references in this Chapter to enforcing a foreign award shall be construed as including references to relying on an award.