In this issue we consider India-related investment treaty developments (“BITs“), starting with the signing of India’s new BITs with Belarus and Taiwan. We then consider new investment treaty claims commenced by Indian investors against Saudi Arabia and Macedonia, as well as new claims commenced against India, including the potential claim brought by a Portuguese investor … Read more

After the Arbitration and Conciliation Bill, 2019 (the “Bill“) was passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament, the President of India on 9 August 2019 gave his assent.  The new Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 (the “2019 Act“) will amend the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the “1996 Act“), implementing the recommendations … Read more

Based on the recommendations of the Sri Krishna Committee (previously discussed here), on 3 July 2019, the current Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, introduced Bill No.127 of 2019, the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill 2019 (the Bill) in the Lok Sabha. The Bill replaces an ordinance issued by the previous government in March 2019 … Read more

In a decision of 11 March 2019, the Supreme Court of India (the “Court“) struck down part of an arbitration clause which required a claimant to deposit 10 per cent of the amount claimed with the arbitrator before the arbitration went ahead. The contract was between a government entity and a private party and the … Read more

We previously reported here that a Geneva-seated UNCITRAL tribunal (the “Tribunal“) constituted under the India-Germany Bilateral Investment Treaty dated 10 July 1995 (the “India-Germany BIT”) found India in breach of its treaty obligations in relation to its cancellation of a spectrum allocation contract[1] (the “Contract“) in an interim award dated 13 December 2017 (the “Award“). … Read more

India entered into its first bilateral investment treaty (BIT), with the United Kingdom, in 1994, as part of a strategy to attract inbound foreign direct investment (FDI).  Having begun to open its economy in the 1990s, India today is a major investment destination.  The Modi government has been keen to attract further investment, including with … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has issued the latest edition of its Indian international arbitration e-bulletin. In this issue we consider various court decisions, which cover issues such as the applicability of the Arbitration Amendment Act 2015, binding non-signatories to an award, enforcement of an award before the National Company Law Tribunal, and the continued pro-arbitration approach … Read more

As previously reported here, a draft Bill to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the “Act“) was approved by the Indian Cabinet on 7 March 2018 (the “Bill“). The Bill was listed as a part of the agenda for the monsoon session of the Indian Parliament and was passed by the Lower House on … Read more