- Government has introduced the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill,2019 in Rajya Sabha.The bill seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,1996.
- The bill seeks to make India a hub of domestic and global arbitration for settling commercial disputes.It provides for settlement of commercial disputes within six months.
- The Bill seeks to establish an independent body called the Arbitration Council of India(ACI) to set up a framework for creating arbitral institutions and accrediting arbitrators by laying down norms.
- The ACI would be mandated to frame rules on (a)how institutions would be graded (b)norms to be followed and (c)monitoring of quality and performance.
- The Bill amends Section 11 of the Act to change the present system of appointment of arbitrators by the Supreme Court or a high court to a system where the arbitrator shall be appointed by arbitral institutions designated by the Supreme Court or a high court.
- The bill also provides that if no graded arbitral institutions are available, the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned may maintain a panel of arbitrators for discharging the functions and duties of arbitral institutions.
- The bill also provides that the arbitrator, the arbitral institutions and the parties shall maintain confidentiality of information relating to arbitral proceedings.
- Arbitration and Conciliation are the methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).ADR is the procedure for settling disputes without litigation.
- Arbitration is a procedure in which the dispute is submitted to an arbitral tribunal which makes a decision on the dispute that is binding on the parties.On the other hand,Conciliation is a non-binding procedure in which an impartial third party, the conciliator assists the parties to a dispute in reaching a mutually satisfactory agreed settlement of the dispute.
