Law College Dehradun organized a two-day International Workshop with eminent personalities like Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Senior Lecturer (Justice & Legal Studies, RMIT University, Australia), Panel Arbitrator, (KCAB), Member (Centre for Global Research) and Mr. Inbavijayan Veeraraghavan, International Arbitrator and Mediator at KOVE Global LLP- on “International Commercial Arbitration” on 15th and 16th of July, 2020. The Workshop was conducted in two parts. Day 1 of the workshop focused on International Commercial Arbitration, chiefly in context of State and State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), and Day 2 dealt on understanding the field of ‘Institutional Arbitration’. Fundamental concepts of the topic including both present & future challenges to be faced in the field, specific rights and remedies available to the entitled, and various variegated aspects of International Commercial Arbitration were exhaustively discussed.
Day-1
The first session of the International Workshop– Commercial Arbitration against State and State-owned Enterprises- was conducted on 15th July, 2020 with Dr.Rajesh Sharma, as the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Sharma, Senior Lecturer, Legal and Dispute Studies, Criminology and Justice, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, has served as the Legal Advisor to the Macau University of Science and Technology. He has also obtained professional training in negotiation at Harvard Law School. He has undertaken training for teachers of WTO organized by UNU- IAS.
The informative session began with the Welcome Address delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna, Vice Chancellor/Dean, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University -. The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Sharma, commenced the session by throwing light on his humble beginning as a law professional and spoke about the plethora of learning avenues that were not available back then. He began with a small introduction about change of traditional role of State and its growing influence on commercial activities like mining, oil exploration, infrastructure etc. Moving ahead he explained the emergence of State owned enterprises and their role of distinguishing State as a commercial partner and State as regulator/ administrator. He then discussed the ideal approach in a case of dispute having a State/Country as a party, stressing on various immunities enjoyed by the State due to its sovereign nature with special reference to Foreign States Immunities Act, 1981(a South African legislation).
The session moved further with Dr. Sharma throwing light on the intricacies involved in the process of Arbitration with State/SOEs. Principles of ‘Jurisdictional Immunity’ and conditions of wavering of such immunities were discussed at length with reference to International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention, 1966) and the New York Convention, 1958. Next, he discussed how State is now being treated as a commercial party giving examples of countries such as USA, UK, Australia and South Africa that have adopted the ‘Sovereign Immunity Act’ which prevents a State from invoking immunity in commercial matters. He also dealt with other significant aspects of International Commercial Arbitration such as execution and enforcement of award against ‘State Property’ with reference to the
‘Gecamine Case’ and the principle devised in the landmark case of Salomon v. Salomon. Especially for the benefit of law students and lawyers, learning and practicing in arbitration, he gave ten sound strategies from his rich personal experience for effective handling of an arbitration involving State/SOEs.
The latter half of the event had the Keynote Speaker taking up doubts and queries of the participants. A diverse audience comprising students, academicians, professionals and eminent personalities from all over India and abroad were present. Queries were regarding- Enforcement of arbitration award against assets located within or outside a country, Differences between UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the like. He concluded the session with a valuable advice for students and lawyers saying that they should always remain prepared for the worst case scenario and never be hasty when dealing with State or State-owned Enterprises.
Day-2
The Second and the Final Session of the Workshop-Institutional Arbitration- was conducted on 16th July, 2020 with Mr. Inbavijayan Veeraraghavan, as the Keynote Speaker. Mr. Veeraraghavan, International Arbitrator and Mediator at KOVE Global LLP, completed his graduation at Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College (formerly Madras Law College), University of Madras, India. After completing his legal education, he took up practice at The High Court of Madras during 1997. Recently he has been inducted as Director of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators India Branch and Member of ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. He is accredited as an arbitrator by HKIAC, CIETAC, RCAKL, CRCICA, ICADR and several other regional and national arbitration institutions. He is the co-founder of ‘Council for National and International Commercial Arbitration'(CNICA) an arbitration institution based in Chennai, India.
The Keynote Speaker, Mr. Veeraraghavan graced the session by giving a brief introduction about the theme for the day’s discussion, i.e., Institutional Arbitration. He discussed about the temporary and permanent quota in Arbitration Institutions, history of arbitration institutions, history of arbitration legislation in India and also discussed with the attendees role & importance of institutions of global importance (for example, the International Court of Arbitration, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, etc). Briefly touching upon the benefits of an Arbitration Institution, such as the availability of numerous qualified arbitrators with a broad array of expertise, he clearly showcased how and why Institutional Arbitration will have more authenticity, acceptance and authority in the forthcoming times.
He also stated that India has a huge potential to be an arbitration hub and South Asian countries such as Hong-Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are highly progressive in their development pattern as far as Institutional Arbitration is concerned. In only the last couple of decades, these nations have created a global market for themselves in a west nation dominated field. He also discoursed about interesting features of Institutional Arbitration in India. The very first was that Niti Ayog has been carefully planning to go about introducing and implementation of such institutions in India. The Arbitration Council of India (which has been introduced by The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019) is a result of such efforts that shall be working as a regulator of arbitration field in India. He hinted at the many arbitral institutions, working along with law schools and law firms, are laying a strong foundation for institutional arbitration in the country. The other intricacy that he talked about was of scrutiny of awards by these institutions, which was criticized at earlier times but later on was accepted to be in the best of interest. He pointed out the benefits of having ‘Emergency Arbitrators’, though not in the current Indian legal framework, but who in future shall undoubtedly prove to be instrumental in reducing a great quantity of workload of Arbitral Institutions & Tribunals. Lastly, he discussed about the depository role of these institutions having basic infrastructure and communication facilities for preservation of documents until they are sent to the courts for enforcements or challenge.
The latter half of the event had the Keynote Speaker taking up doubts and queries of the participants. The audience comprised a wide diversity with students, academicians, professionals and eminent personalities from all over the globe, actively discussing the nuances & issues pertinent to the topic. Queries were regarding- Position of traditional courts in the wake of arbitrational institutions, Inclusion of criminal proceedings under the scope of arbitration, Relevance of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), Impact of arbitration on the ease of doing business and the like. He concluded the session with his personal views regarding the future of Institutional Arbitration in India. He said India has a huge untapped potential which can propel it towards becoming the new hub of International & Institutional Arbitration. He shared his conviction that young upcoming lawyers and law students will be the necessary change.
The final session of the International Workshop concluded with a Vote of Thanks delivered on behalf of the Organizing Committee of Training and Recruitment Division, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University.
TRD – 2-Day International Workshop on ICA-Web Report(with photos) – Click Here To View PDF
