Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a keynote address, highlighted strides being made in the country to position India as a “major international arbitration hub” in line with Singapore and London.
“India and the United Kingdom share a rich history bound by a common legal heritage, rooted in the principles of common law,” said Gavai.
The CJI pointed to an India-UK memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in July 2018, which led to enhanced law and justice engagement between the two countries and paved the way for greater collaboration and exchange of expertise across areas such as dispute resolution, training and legal services.
“This bond has been further strengthened by the signing of a free trade deal between the two nations this year. The stage has been set to significantly enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” he said.
“As is the case with any form of commercial activity, disputes are an inevitable part of the process. What truly matters, however, is not the existence of these disputes but rather our capacity and commitment to resolving them efficiently,” he noted.
The CJI 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, facilitated by the Bar Council of India’s May 14 notification on the rules for the registration and regulation of foreign lawyers.
“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,” said Gavai.
The CJI welcomed the injection of global best practice that such moves would provide to the Indian legal ecosystem and also help tap the under-utilised potential of Indian lawyers in the international arbitration landscape.
“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,” he added.
Minister Meghwal flagged the India-UK FTA as a “historical milestone” that is estimated to double bilateral trade by 2030.
“The FTA will promote greater investment, innovation and collaboration across key sectors such as technology, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and services,” he said.
“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,” he said.
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 area of arbitration and dispute resolution over recent years.
UK Supreme Court Judge Lord Michael Briggs noted in his 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.
“It opens up government procurement on equal footing for British companies and opens up a range of services sectors to both our countries to benefit from,” he said, adding that innovation in the settlement of disputes will boost this growing two-way exchange.
ICA Director Arun Chawla set the tone for the conference by highlighting the “unmistakable” pace of legal collaboration between India and the UK and barrister and ICA member Kashmira Vora concluded the event by spotlighting the “comity between the legal systems” in both nations. PTI AK ZH ZH ZH
