Pendency high, Supreme Court must not take up bail pleas, frivolous PILs: Kiren Rijiju

The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill in August 2022, which expands this to include the conduct of other forms of alternative dispute resolution, besides arbitration.

Responding to allegations made by various Opposition members that the Bill was being introduced because of pressure from the World Bank, Rijiju said, “…it is not under any international pressure but it is the situation, the emergent situation, which compelled the government to take a decision. Therefore, it is a sovereign decision by the government of India.”

“We are the fifth biggest economy in the world, yet we are not the international hub of arbitration,’’ said Rijiju, adding that Rs 75 lakh had already been granted to the centre. The Centre has also proposed the appointment of a chairman and two expert members from the ministry.

Agreeing with many of the suggestions and criticism from MPs on the state of arbitration in the country, the Law Minister said, “I, personally, agree with the suggestions which have come today. The arbitration centre must be independent… we are very mindful of that… we know the moment the authority of the centre is diluted, it will lose its credibility,’’ he said.

Batting for an institutionalised mechanism for arbitration, Rijiju said, “It will have a predetermined arbitration procedure, which will be laid down by the Centre. There will be updated rules in lieu of the latest developments. An efficient panel of arbitrators and professional support will come up. There will be world-class infrastructure.’’

He said that the main problem in arbitration in the country right now is of delays – resulting from ad hoc arbitration – which are often appealed in courts. “If the arbitral awards are not of high quality, then there are negative comments from the judiciary. That is why the arbitral awards must stand the scrutiny of the law,’’ he said.