“The United Kingdom with its established reputation as a hub of commercial arbitration and India with its expanding economy and legal reforms stands poised to deepen cooperation in this critical domain,” said Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai during a visit to London this week.
The senior-most judge’s visit coincided with London International Disputes Week (LIDW), marked by the third edition of the Indian Council of Arbitration’s (ICA) International Conference on Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes. In his inaugural address entitled ‘Synergising India-UK Arbitration Practices’, Justice Gavai highlighted the opening up of the Indian legal landscape for foreign law firms to operate in non-litigation areas such as arbitration, including cross-border disputes.
The Chief Justice of India noted: “The Bar Council of India has further clarified that foreign lawyers may participate in international commercial arbitration conducted in India, provided such arbitration involves foreign or international law; thereby promoting India as a viable destination for international arbitration.”
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He was joined at the conference by India’s Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who highlighted the “historic milestone” achieved last month with the conclusion of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The minister stated: “The FTA will promote greater investment, innovation and collaboration across key sectors such as technology, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and services.
“One of the key pillars of Prime Minister Modi’s Viksit Bharat vision is creating a business-friendly environment and to support this, it is essential to have a dispute resolution system that is quick, reliable and cost-effective… significant reforms have been introduced in the field with the goal of making India a global hub for arbitration.”
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The conference, organised by the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) to coincide with London International Disputes Week (LIDW), focussed on the scope and growth of India-UK collaborations in the field of arbitration and dispute resolution over recent years.
UK Supreme Court Judge Lord Michael Briggs noted in a keynote address: “The recent signing of an India-UK trade agreement makes this a good time to have a very quick celebratory look at the relationship between courts and arbitration in our two countries.”
The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, also reflected upon the shared legal history between both countries and the immense scope for cross-sector expansion following the recently concluded FTA.
