- You are here:
- Home
- Court Decisions
- INDIA 75
INDIA 75
Supreme Court of India, 13 December 2023, Curative Petition (C) No. 44 of 2023 in Review Petition (C) No. 704 of 2021 in Civil Appeal No. 1599 of 2020 and with Arbitration Petition No. 25 of 2023
(Parties: Not applicable)
INDIA 75
The Supreme Court, requested to appoint arbitrators in three separate arbitrations, unanimously held that arbitration agreements contained in contracts that were not stamped in accordance with the Indian Stamp Act 1899 were enforceable, even though non-stamped instruments were inadmissible as evidence under the Act. The Court found that the Arbitration Act, which incorporated the principles of the autonomy of the arbitration agreement, competence-competence of the arbitrators, and minimal judicial interference, required the courts, when asked to appoint arbitrators, to only ascertain prima facie that an arbitration agreement existed.
The court discusses the meaning and effect of the referral of the resolution of disputes to arbitration, including: who can ask for referral and when, whether a party has waived its right to request arbitration, the defense that there was no contract at all; whether there was a condition precedent to the commencement of arbitration (e.g. mediation), stay of proceedings v. compelling arbitration, and national procedural specificities such as remand and removal (US), effect of class action. etc.
The court discusses the principle of competence-competence, including whether the parties “intended to have arbitrability decided by an arbitrator”, and the separability of the arbitration agreement from the main contract.