ATK

New Delhi [India], November 27: Adraas, a real-time dispute resolution solution, organized a stakeholder summit on 'Arbitration in the New Age.' During the opening remarks, founder, Nitya Bansal introduced Adraas, short for "ADR as a service," as a revolutionary end-to-end, institution-agnostic, arbitration case management platform. Unlike online dispute resolution, Adraas- Realtime Environment for Dispute Resolution distinguishes itself as an exclusive technology platform that enhances efficiencies of both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations and does not adhere to any fixed set of arbitration rules.

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Justice (Retd.) Hemant Gupta, (former Supreme Court Judge), Suresh Chandra (former Information Commissioner and Union Law Secretary), Rajiv Mani (Additional Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs), Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna (Delhi High Court), Justice (Retd.) Mukta Gupta and Justice (Retd.) Jayant Nath (former Delhi High Court judges) graced the occasion and shared their views by participating in thought provoking panel discussions surrounding contemporary discourses in arbitration. Each panel was carefully curated to ensure all- judicial, arbitrator, public sector, private sector, and legal practitioner perspectives were adequately represented.

Discussing the impending arbitration reforms, Justice Hemant Gupta, chairperson of the recently reconstituted India International Arbitration Centre, a central statute creation, acknowledged that when it comes to judiciary, commercial matters often take a backseat to broader societal concerns. He therefore emphasized the need for specialized commercial dispute tribunals to expedite resolution and reduce court intervention in arbitration. Chandra concurred with Justice Gupta citing that court intervention resulted in the replication of formalistic court procedures in arbitration. Rajiv Mani, underscored the role of technology for quick resolution and reiterated the government's commitment to improve the arbitration framework. Ratan K. Singh, a reputed international arbitrator proposed improvements in training programs for arbitrators and need for sectoral expert arbitrators in the arbitration process. Madhvendra Singh, CEO of Gujarat Maritime Cluster opened by stating that reforms require intent, power and knowledge. He analyzed how the responsibility for necessary reforms rests majorly with arbitral institutions. But he also highlighted the need for institutions to allow flexibility in their rules. The discussion concluded with Justice Gupta sharing that IIAC will soon develop practice guidelines for arbitrators.

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On the role of technology in arbitration, Justice Palli, observed that by enabling easy access to case records, technology helps reduce case pendency. In particular, she highlighted its role in the efficient dismissal of Section 34 of the Arbitration Act applications. Tariq Khan, the Registrar at IAMC Hyderabad, shared his views on the environmental impact of large-scale arbitrations. Referring to a UK survey, he highlighted that to compensate for the carbon footprint of an average physical arbitration would require planting over 20,000 trees. He underscored the role of online arbitration platforms like Adraas in making the arbitration process more environmentally friendly by going paperless.

Dhruv Suri, partner of PSA Legal, raised pertinent questions about systemic issues plaguing the arbitration environment calling for the need for greater transparency. Suri brainstormed whether there should be a need for public disclosure of the structure and funding sources of arbitral institutions. Tahira Karanjawala, partner Karanjawala & Co. remarked that, to rule out the possibility of bias on the part of arbitrators, the dispute parties have a right to know the source of funding of the arbitral institutions appointing arbitrators to decide their disputes. Speaking from his experience in the public sector, Mohit Dubey, Deputy Director, Military Engineering Services, Ministry of Defense, also echoed concerns expressed by others about corruption within the system. His emphasis on the need for transparency in the public sector arbitration process and the potential that case management platforms like Adraas offer in this direction resonated strongly.

Other eminent panelists to the summit included Hemant Rajora, Chief General Manager (Legal) of Indraprastha Gas, Siboney S. Sagar, Senior Counsel (Regulatory Affairs) Star India partners of several top Law firms- Gauhar Mirza, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Kaushik Moitra, Bharucha & Partners and Arpan Behl, Economic Laws Practice. Representatives from Assocham, Society for Construction Law and Military Engineering Services also graced the occasion. Overall there was a consensus that platforms like Adraas- Realtime Environment for Dispute Resolution can give a much-needed impetus to the arbitration industry in India.

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