Amend Arbitration Act: LawCom chief

8220;I had an occasion to consider the amounts charged by the arbitrators as their remuneration and I had opined that it is time that the Central government steps in and brings about the amendments to the Arbitration Act,stipulating the rates of fees payable to the arbitrators.8221;

He pointed out that a main reason for resorting to arbitration was to avoid undue delay in getting disputes settled in normal courts of law. 8220;But the experience has been that even the arbitration procedure has been made as much cumbersome and time consuming.8221;

Retired judges who become arbitrators 8220;usually treat the arbitration proceedings in the same manner as traditional litigations8221; and they approach the arbitration with a similar mind set as for normal litigation,Lakshmanan said.

8220;With the result,the awards invariably end up in courts increasing the timeframe for resolution of the disputes.8221;

As for suitability and qualification of the arbitrator for various cases,he said it would be better to choose an experienced person in the field of dispute. 8220;He should not only be a specialist in the matter,but should also have adequate knowledge of law.8221;

He requested the Indian Council of Arbitrators ICA to consider his suggestion that arbitrators from Tamil Nadu be nominated for arbitration disputes arising out of /within the territorial jurisdiction of Tamil Nadu.

Noting that India has undertaken major reforms in its arbitration law in recent years as part of the economic reforms initiated in 1991 and simultaneous judicial reforms to minimize court8217;s intervention in the arbitration process,Lakshmanan said,8221;These reforms have resulted in increased Foreign Direct Investment.

Quoting noted economist Dr Raja Chelliah8217;s contention that simplicity,transparency and preceived functions were essential for attracting the much needed foreign investment,Lakshmanan said that these have been the guiding principles of the government policy over the last seven years.

He said there was a lot of flexibility in the use of ADR Alternate Dispute Resolution methods.

8220;The flexibility is available in the procedure as well as the way the solutions are found to the dispute. The solutions can be problem specific. The rigidity of precedent as used in adversarial method of dispute resolution will not come in the way of finding solutions to the disputes in a creative way.8221;