"At all events, arbitration is more rational, just, and humane than the resort to the sword."
What is Arbitration?
Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution method, under which a dispute is submitted by agreement between the parties, to one or more Independent Third Party/Parties called an Arbitrator who passes a binding decision on the parties to the dispute, called an Arbitral Award. Arbitration is an alternative to court litigation and generally, an Arbitral Award passed in an Arbitration Proceeding is just as final and binding on the parties.
Importance of Arbitration
Arbitration is usually less expensive as compared to litigation. It further provides for speedy resolution of disputes and simpler procedures. Thus, many disputes in commercial trade, shipping, banking, property, IPRs etc. are resolved in this way.
LGL ODR aims to provide a faster and more cost-effective Dispute Resolution without making partners become adversaries.
The Steps in Arbitration
01
Help us Help you
Help us understand your dispute and we will then invite the other party on board, and assign an Arbitrator to arbitrate your dispute.
02
Uploading of Claims and Documents
The parties to the Arbitration are supposed to file their Statement of Claims and supporting documents or evidence, if any, to the Arbitrator.
03
Online Hearing
The Arbitration proceedings will be held on video conference wherein the Arbitrator will address the disputes involved between the parties. The Arbitrator will go through the claims and counterclaims put forth by the parties along with its supporting documents before reaching a solution.
04
Conclusion
After having gone through the claims and documents provided by the parties, the Arbitrator within a period of 15 (fifteen) days will pronounce his decision with regards to the dispute and pass an award for the same. The Arbitral Award passed by the Arbitrator shall be binding on both the parties and enforceable under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Arbitration Rules
1.1. The Parties to a dispute can commence Arbitration under the LGL ODR Arbitration Rules as mentioned below and it must be read clearly and wholly:
If the Parties to a dispute have a pre existing LGL Arbitration Clause, they can directly initiate Arbitration Proceedings on the LGL ODR Platform by registering themselves and providing the following information:
- Full name and details (full address, email addresses and contact number) of the parties to the dispute
- Copy of the Notice invoking Arbitration, if already sent. If not, the same will have to be served on the other party and uploaded on the LGL ODR Platform, within 7 days of its receipt by the other party.
- Scanned Original Agreement with regards to which dispute has arisen between the parties
- Copy of the LGL Arbitration Clause
- Statement of Claim along with ancillary documents supporting the claims.
- Names and details of the Arbitrator or Arbitrators, if applicable.
- Copy of the Court mandated Order to refer dispute to Arbitration under LGL Arbitration rules, if any.
- Any other document, if any, related to the dispute.
If the Parties do not have a pre-existing Arbitration Clause, they may initiate Arbitration Proceedings on LGL ODR Platform by registering themselves on the LGL ODR Platform and inviting the other party to the dispute to resolve the same through Arbitration under LGL Arbitration Rules, as follows:
- The Party may send an Arbitration Invite to the other party to refer the dispute to Arbitration on LGL ODR Platform.
- A brief statement describing the nature of the dispute.
- Time period to accept the Arbitration Invite, from the date of receipt.
- Other documents as the claimant party deems fit.
1.2 If the other party accepts the Arbitration Invite within the time period as mentioned by the Claimant Party, then the other party will have to register on LGL ODR Platform. The parties, therefore, will be deemed to have accepted the LGL Arbitration Clause.
1.3 The Claimant party shall upload the following documents to initiate Arbitration proceedings on LGL ODR Platform:
- Full name and details (full address, email addresses and contact number) of the parties to the dispute
Copy of the Notice invoking Arbitration, if already sent. If not, the same will have to be served on the other party and uploaded on the LGL ODR Platform, within 7 days of its receipt by the other party. - Agreement with regards to which dispute has arisen.
- Statement of Claim along with ancillary documents.
- Names and details of the Arbitrator or Arbitrators, if applicable.
- Any other document, if any, related to the dispute.
1.4. If the other party does not accept or fails to respond to the Arbitration Invite within the stipulated time period, then LGL will notify the claimant party and close the dispute.
1.5 Once the parties are successfully registered on the LGL ODR Platform, LGL ODR will notify the same to the parties and start the process of registering and resolving the dispute.
1.6 If there is an order of the Court directing an Arbitration to be held under LGL Arbitration Rules, then the Claimant party shall file the order of the court or copy with us in order to verify the same.
1.7 In case one of the parties to the LGL Arbitration Clause files a suit in any court with respect to the same subject matter, then the party seeking to continue with the arbitration proceedings under LGL ODR Portal shall file necessary applications to inform the court of the existence of the LGL Arbitration Clause.
ii. The mediation will commence only after both the parties have accepted and agreed to the terms and conditions. In case one party that has a potential dispute approaches Letsgetlegal to resolve their dispute, in such a case the other party will be approached with an invitation to a mediation. Once both parties agree they are required to sign the Letsgetlegal Terms and Conditions to commence the process.
2.1 LGL shall appoint a Case Manager within one day when both the parties have successfully registered on LGL ODR Platform and shall notify all the parties to the dispute of the appointment of a Case Manager.
2.2 The Case Manager shall conduct a Pre-Arbitration Call with the parties within two days from the appointment of such Case Manager to explain the procedure of the arbitration proceedings under the LGL Arbitration Rules, details of the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, factual details of the dispute, and timeline to submit the written submissions and documents as prescribed under LGL Arbitration Rules.
3.1 Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to arbitration, a sole arbitrator shall be appointed by LGL to constitute the Arbitral Tribunal within three days from the date of appointment of Case Manager by LGL and such constitution of Arbitral Tribunal shall be notified to the parties forthwith.
3.2 In case the parties have agreed for appointment of more than one arbitrator, LGL shall appoint such number of arbitrators as agreed by the parties, under the LGL Arbitration Clause, within two days from the the date of appointment of Case Manager and such constitution of Arbitral Tribunal shall be notified to the parties forthwith.
3.3 The Arbitrators are appointed based on certain parameters such as experience in the subject matter of the dispute, years of experience, language, availability and other such relevant factors.
A declaration in accordance with Section 12 read with Fifth Schedule, Sixth Schedule and Seventh Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall be made by the Arbitrator appointed by LGL in relation to his independence, impartiality and competence within two days from such appointment.
5.1 Any of the parties to the Arbitration may challenge the appointment of arbitrator on the grounds mentioned or provided in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
5.2 Any arbitrator that is appointed by LGL may be challenged by either of the parties in such circumstances that gives rise to doubts that are justifiable as to the arbitrator’s impartiality or independence, or if the arbitrator has become unable to fulfil their functions or is not fulfilling those functions in accordance with the LGL Arbitration Rules or within the prescribed time limits.
5.3 Any challenge to the appointment of arbitrator can be made within five days from the declaration being made by the arbitrator under the rules mentioned and must provide for the grounds of challenge and should be submitted in writing to our LGL Review Committee via email at connect/odr@letsgetlegal.in and shall be sent via LGL ODR Platform to the other parties.
5.4 When an appointment is challenged by any party, and such challenge is agreed by the other parties, then the parties may make a mutual request in writing to LGL Review Committee, in which case LGL will appoint another professional to act as an Arbitrator. The challenged arbitrator may also choose to voluntarily withdraw as an arbitrator from such arbitration, in which case LGL will appoint a new arbitrator from the Panel.
5.5 In a case where other parties agree to such a challenge but may be unable to mutually agree on a new arbitrator, in such a case either one or all parties to arbitration can request for their respective choice of arbitrator from the Panel and the final discretion of the arbitrator appointment shall lie with LGL after conducting due diligence and investigation into the claims of the party against the arbitrator to see if the claims are genuine or not;
5.6 The time period for such challenge is that it should be decided within 3 days by the LGL Review Committee in such terms that the Committee may:
(a) decide to continue with the same arbitrator, in case it finds no merit in the claims of the party/parties against the arbitrator; or
(b) decide to change the arbitrator, in which case it shall appoint a new arbitrator from the Panel of arbitrators listed with LGL.
The decision taken by the LGL Review Committee shall be final and binding on all parties to arbitration.
5.7 In case of death of the appointed arbitrator or some other serious event due to which the Arbitrator cannot arbitrate the matter further, LGL shall have the sole discretion to appoint a new arbitrator from the panel of arbitrators listed with LGL and appoint another new arbitrator, as far as arbitration proceedings have taken place, will continue proceedings from thereon and any action taken prior to such replacement will not be affected.
6.1 The Arbitral Tribunal shall be deemed to have been formed on the day on which the arbitrator or all the arbitrators (depending on the needs of the case), receive a notice in writing of their appointment by LGL, and the arbitrators have to thereafter provide a confirmation.
6.2 The date for a Preliminary Hearing shall be fixed considering the date of Commencement of the Arbitral Proceedings.
7.1 The Arbitral Tribunal, at the request of the Party to the dispute, and as it deems appropriate, will issue an order granting an injunction or any other interim relief to either party depending on their claims and the documents supporting such claims,etc.
7.2 The Party may file an application for interim relief after the formation of the Arbitral Tribunal and any order for such interim reliefs shall be promptly communicated by the claimant to the Arbitral Tribunal, LGL and to all the other parties that are involved in the arbitration on the LGL ODR Platform.
8.1 The Claimant Party must submit or upload their Statement of Claims along with documents of evidentiary value and a signed declaration on the LGL ODR Platform within five-six days from the date of commencement of arbitral proceedings and the Arbitral Tribunal or Case Manager shall send a copy of the Statement of Claims and attached documents uploaded by the Claimant Party to the Respondents
8.2 In case the Claimant fails to submit the Statement of Claims within the timeline prescribed above, the Arbitral Tribunal may terminate the arbitral proceedings in case or give any other order as it may deem appropriate according to the facts and circumstances of each case.
8.3 Once the Respondents receive the Statement of Claims they must file their Statement of Defenses along with the documents of evidentiary value and a signed declaration, within eight-ten days from the day they receive the Statement of Claims on the LGL ODR Platform and the Arbitral Tribunal or Case Manager shall send a copy of the Statement of Defense and other attached documents uploaded by the Respondent Party to the Claimant/s. If the Respondent fails to file the Statement of Defense within the timeline prescribed under the rules then the Arbitral Tribunal may continue to proceed with arbitration and may waive such party’s right to furnish the Statement of Defense, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, at the discretion of the arbitral tribunal.
8.4 If the respondents file objections they also has the liberty to file and upload counterclaims on their behalf, if any, on the LGL ODR Platform, against the Claimant, provided the counter claim arises under the same transaction as the original claim along with full details supported by relevant documentary evidence supporting the counterclaims.
8.5 The Claimant/s shall have the right to submit rejoinder or reply to counterclaim on the LGL ODR Platform with the prior permission of the Arbitral Tribunal within five days from the receipt of Statement of Defense/s or counterclaim/s and Arbitral Tribunal shall share such rejoinder/reply to counterclaim to the Respondent at the time of submitting the same to the platform. The Arbitral Tribunal appointed to adjudicate upon the original claim will also adjudicate upon the counter-claim and there will be no change in the number of members of Arbitral Tribunal already constituted on the basis of original claim, which is understood by both the parties.
9.1 Any party to the arbitration may amend, supplement or modify the Pleadings, as filed on the LGL ODR Platform only with the prior permission from the Arbitral Tribunal about the same. All such submissions must be in conformity with LGL Rules and within the timeline prescribed by the LGL Rules unless decided otherwise by the Arbitral Tribunal.
9.2 The Arbitral Tribunal may allow the parties to amend, supplement or modify their respective pleadings unless there has become a grave delay occurring due to such amendment, supplemental or modified pleadings that would cause irreparable prejudice to the other parties.
9.3 The Arbitral Tribunal may decide, with its sole discretion, whether any additional pleadings shall be required from the parties depending on the facts and circumstances of each case and the Arbitral Tribunal shall fix the periods of time for presenting such additional Pleadings.
10.1 The Arbitral Tribunal may, prior to any hearing, ask either party to give written notice of any witness that any party wishes to produce before the Arbitral Tribunal along with the details of the witness and such witness’s relevance to the dispute. The Arbitral Tribunal shall determine the manner in which the witnesses may be examined.
10.2 If the witness being produced before the Arbitral Tribunal is an expert witness meaning a witness that has expertise in a particular field/area, in such a situation all the costs and expenses shall be incurred by the party producing the expert witness.
10.3 Such witness may file evidence by way of a duly affirmed statement, which shall be uploaded on the LGL ODR Platform by the party intending to produce the said witness and provided to the other party.
11.1 The Arbitral Tribunal may, in consultation with the parties, appoint an expert in a specific field for assistance, to report on specific issues which shall be set out in writing. The Arbitral Tribunal may direct the parties to provide any relevant information, as it deems fit. Each party shall bear equal cost regarding such expert witnesses appointed by the Arbitral Tribunal, unless it is stated otherwise by the arbitral tribunal.
11.2 Any such expert appointed by the Arbitral Tribunal shall upload the report of their findings in writing on the LGL ODR Platform which shall be shared to all the parties to the arbitration.
12.1 The Arbitral Tribunal has the sole right to determine the admissibility, relevance, trueness and weight of any evidence and shall not be bound by the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 or any other applicable law or rules in this regard.
12.2 All evidence, documents or statements that the parties wish to produce before the Arbitral Tribunal shall be uploaded within the timelines stipulated in LGL Rules or as decided by the Arbitral Tribunal on the LGL ODR Platform.
12.3 The Arbitral Tribunal has the power to conduct enquiries as may appear to be necessary or expedient or also can order/ask any party to produce such copies of, any document in their possession, custody or control which the Arbitral Tribunal considers relevant to the case and material to its outcome.
13.1 The Arbitral Tribunal shall conduct hearings daily if there is a need for it, post-submission/completion of the pleadings.
13.2 The Arbitral Tribunal shall intimate to all the parties to arbitration upon completion of all hearings and shall conclude the arbitral proceedings under LGL Rules pending only the issuance of Award within the designated timeline as decided and prescribed to and by the parties.
13.3 It is also understood that all the hearings concerning arbitration proceedings under LGL Rules shall be confidential. Any recordings, transcripts, documents or other material concerning the arbitration proceedings under LGL Rules shall remain confidential.
13.4 All hearings by the arbitrator shall be on the LGL ODR Platform or dedicated platform as decided by LGL, unless requested otherwise by any party specifically to such arbitration proceedings. In the event any party to arbitration proceedings under LGL Rules requests for an offline in-person hearing, the other party(ies) shall decide if they agree to conduct the offline in-person hearing and the party(ies) who will bear the cost of such offline in-person hearing, if it is possible and feasible to the parties.
13.5 In case of any disagreement between the parties about the conduct or fees of offline in-person hearing concerning the parties to arbitration proceedings under LGL Rules, the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide the same and the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be final and binding.
13.6 In the case the Arbitral Tribunal decides to conduct an offline in-person hearing, the Arbitral Tribunal shall carry out the arbitration proceedings at the chosen place of arbitration and LGL will receive the additional fees outlined by the Arbitral Tribunal.
14.1 The Arbitral Tribunal shall conclude the arbitral proceedings within a time period of two months from the date of commencement of the arbitration.
14.2 The Arbitral Tribunal may, with reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to all the parties to arbitral proceedings, grant an adjournment if it is understood that it is justifiable, necessary and fitting to the case at hand and if such adjournment is really required and necessary, for no reason whatsoever must an arbitration be delayed by granting simply adjournments that aren’t fruitful and end up wasting the time of the parties to the dispute.
14.3 If the request for adjournment has come up, then such an application seeking adjournment supported by sufficient reasons and necessary documents supporting such reasons must be uploaded on the LGL ODR Platform and the other Party must be promptly informed of such an application seeking adjournment in writing by the Party filing such application.
14.4 If the other party has any objection to the request for the adjournment, he shall positively file such objection in writing within the time period of twenty-four hours on the LGL ODR Platform.
14.5 The Arbitral Tribunal shall determine the adjournment/s considering the facts and circumstances of the request, after giving due deliberation to the views of the other party, and only after truly understanding the request will the tribunal provide its decision.
14.6 The Arbitral Tribunal may impose costs, as it deems fit, owed by the party seeking such adjournment.
If either party to the arbitral proceedings default on their obligations under the LGL Rules or the arbitration rules at hand, without any proper reasoning, then the Arbitral Tribunal may continue with the proceedings, and any right that may have been granted to such party as a result of compliance with the said obligation shall stand relinquished in its totality.
16.1 The Arbitral Tribunal shall make an award within ten days (can be extended to fifteen days in extraordinary situations with prior intimation to the parties) from the date when the Arbitral Tribunal communicated all the parties regarding the conclusion and completion of arbitral proceedings
16.2 If in case the Award has not been made even in the extended time limit of up to fifteen days, the time limit can be extended in exceptionally extraordinary cases where such time is very necessarily required to provide a just order to both the parties, the extended time limit as deemed fit by the Arbitral Tribunal shall not exceed the total time limit designated in section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
17.1 Arbitral Tribunal may within seven to ten days from the issuance of the Award correct the counting errors, clerical error, typographical, computer-generated errors or other related errors appearing in the Award, in the following cases:
(a) suo motu;
(b) upon receipt of a mutual request by the parties to the arbitration proceedings under LGL ODR Rules; or
(c) on the application of one party to the arbitration proceedings under LGL ODR Rules and after granting an opportunity to hear the other party.
17.2 The additional award shall be made in writing and must be signed by all the members of the Arbitral Tribunal. If any member of the Arbitral Tribunal is unable to sign the additional award for any reason whatsoever, then the additional award shall state such reason and such additional award shall be binding on all the parties as long as it is signed by the majority of the arbitrators constituting the Arbitral Tribunal.
The arbitration proceedings under LGLODR Rules shall stand terminated in accordance with section 32 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act when the arbitral tribunal deems it fit to be terminated.
The Award passed by the Arbitral Tribunal shall be binding on the parties to such arbitration proceedings and the person claiming the relief from such Award, must follow and enforce such award passed by the Arbitral Tribunal.
In any arbitration proceedings under LGL ODR Rules, other than an international commercial arbitration under LGL ODR Rules, the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide the dispute tendered to arbitration following the substantive law for the time being in force in India.