Now Reading: Bombay HC upholds pre-2015 unilateral arbitrator appointments
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Bombay HC upholds pre-2015 unilateral arbitrator appointments
freepressjournal.in reports that the Bombay High Court has ruled that an arbitrator appointed unilaterally before October 23, 2015 is valid if the arbitration agreement allowed one party to make the appointment. Justice…
The Story in Brief
freepressjournal.in reports that the Bombay High Court has ruled that an arbitrator appointed unilaterally before October 23, 2015 is valid if the arbitration agreement allowed one party to make the appointment. Justice Jitendra Jain passed the judgement on August 4 while dealing with execution proceedings involving SE Investments Ltd, now Paisalo Digital Ltd.
The court noted that the 2015 amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act changed the legal position by introducing Section 12(5) to strengthen independence and impartiality. However, the later position cannot retroactively invalidate all prior appointments. Appointments made under a clause naming an arbitrator or authorising one party stand, while those without any contractual basis are void. The court also said an executing court cannot reject an award if the appointment was already unsuccessfully challenged.
The Indian Opinion
Some may frame this ruling as a blow to arbitrator independence, but the court rightly applied the law as it stood before 2015. The amendment was not meant to reopen settled appointments. The real test is whether lower courts will faithfully apply this distinction between contractual consent and unilateral overreach, or allow old disputes to be re-litigated through execution proceedings. Watch for future cases where the arbitration clause lacks any naming or authorisation provision.
Source: freepressjournal.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
