Amendments to the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996!

In furtherance of the new economic policy, the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 was first promulgated about 20 years back by way of an ordinance as part of urgent economic reforms. It is no surprise then that another ordinance the Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 has now amended that same law to bring it in sync with the times, as part of the current government’s push towards ease of doing business in India. One of the most important questions in any litigant’s mind would be the effect these amendments would have on their existing proceedings. Unfortunately, that’s an aspect that the Ordinance provides no guidance on. ELP has done a detailed analysis of the amendments outlining the effect, comparison with the 246th Law Commission Report and their views on the impact of these changes in both legal and practical terms.

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