Delhi set to become global hub for commercial arbitration.

The National Capital is poised to become a global hub for commercial arbitration.

On August 27 Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley is expected to make the announcement on making Delhi the global hub for international arbitration on the lines of centres in London and Singapore.

Presently, the five most preferred seats for international commercial arbitration are London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and Geneva.

The new international arbitration centre in Delhi will act as an overarching body in addition to a similar body that is running under the Delhi High Court. There is also an international arbitration centre running in Mumbai that started last year and handles some preliminary cases. This was set up at the behest of the Maharashtra government.

“With the rapid growth of Indian economy, it has become imperative for investors to have an efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanism.

Besides, India is now the third-largest foreign investment recipient in the world, so it should have easy access to arbitration. As a result, the Centre is soon going to setup an arbitration body under the aegis of the Supreme Court,” a top official, involved in the process, told BusinessLine.

THE HINDU