The National Law Institute University’s Centre for Business and Commercial Laws (‘CBCL’) organised a two day seminar in association with Lex Witness as its Official Magazine Partner on 3rd and 4th of March 2012 in the University campus. The Seminar on Critical Issues in International Commercial Arbitration was the first University Grants Commission (the ‘UGC’) sponsored seminar to be held at the University.

The announcement of the seminar was met with enthusiasm. 190 papers were received of which the best 50 were selected to be presented at the seminar. The participants comprised of law students, academicians and working professionals. The best papers will be featured in a special issue to be brought out by NLIU on international commercial arbitration.

When asked about the aim of the conference, CBCL Convenor, Albin George Thomas, maintained that “After the successful Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility marking the 25th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, it was important for the Centre to organize a Seminar on Arbitration, which has become the most sought dispute resolution process. Unfortunately, certain loopholes in the law and various court judgments have made arbitration appear more complex than litigation. Thus, this seminar is being organized as a purely academic event to find solutions to problems being faced during arbitration in India.”

India has brought in legislation to make provision for commercial arbitration in an attempt to improve corporate and commercial litigation. However, due to conflicting decisions in the courts, the law has become complex and ambiguous. The seminar aimed to encourage research in such areas.

The Chief Guest, Prof. (Dr.) Sukh Pal Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, delivered an informative speech in the inaugural session. He described commercial arbitration as an ‘efficacious tool’ but did not fail to appreciate that it was at a critical juncture in India.

The seminar concluded after a successful valedictory ceremony. The Guest of Honor for the event was Hon’bleMr. Justice PP Naolekar, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India. He explained the development of international commercial arbitration and the history of arbitration in India. He stressed the need of “party autonomy” in international commercial arbitration agreements. The three best papers were awarded to AnimeshKhandelwal, fourth year student from NLU Jodhpur, Kapil Joshi, MBL Student of NLSIU, Bangalore and ShubhamKaushal, third year student from GNLU. On the conclusion of the conference, a proposal was sent to the UGC elucidating the points of concern and loopholes in the extant legal system.