In a recent interview
that appeared in Economic Times here, Chief Justice of India(CJI)-designate expressed his
dissatisfaction in the way arbitration mechanism has evolved as an
alternate to court litigation. He stated that "Unfortunately even after
award, the aggrieved person is not accepting it. When it goes to court, we(the
courts) treat it on par with other civil matters, so it gets delayed."
He suggested that the High Court or the Supreme Court should segregate
the matters coming from arbitration and direct all such cases to a
special bench familiar to the subject. He also suggested that, when dealing
with arbitration cases coming to the courts, a time frame be drawn.
He was of the opinion
that commercial matters too, like " green benches" and special
benches for death sentence should go to specialised benches earmarked for them.
In his view "at least four commercial cities Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and
Chennai, High Courts must create separate benches for corporate matters."
Australia, in
particular has separate bench particularly for arbitration
matters which is much narrow when compared to specialised commercial benches as
suggested by the upcoming CJI. How far his vision meets reality, only time will
tell. However, considering the short span of time for which he will serve as
the CJI, for around 10 months, it might be difficult for him to bring in a turnaround
in this area when there are already many concerns that will need his
attention.
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