Panel Discussion on the theme of Future of Arbitration and Mediation in India at IAMC , Hyderabad on 23 May, 2022.

The International Arbitration & Mediation Centre, Hyderabad (IAMC) organized a panel discussion on the future of Arbitration & Mediation in India as part of an open day for leading law firms on May 23^rd, 2022.

The discussion centered around the theme of “Future of Arbitration and Mediation in India” with the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ramalingeshwar Rao, former Judge of the High Courts of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana delivering the keynote address.

In his address Justice Rao touched upon the role of stakeholders in arbitration with an emphasis on the role and conduct of arbitration lawyers who are responsible for promoting and helping people transition to a culture of alterative dispute resolution from court based adversarial litigation process.

He emphasized on how center’s like IAMC, Hyderabad can play an important role in promoting the culture of Arbitration and Mediation in India. He also mentioned that too much time is spent in getting an arbitrator appointed. Such delays can easily be avoided in institutional arbitration. Further, he said that once an arbitrator is appointed, he should act like a judge, independent and impartial.

Fellow panelist, Ekta Bahl, Partner at SAMVAD Partners spoke about how to make mediation more effective and mainstream in India, while myth busting the idea that mediated settlements must always offer a win – win to both parties. She emphasized that often the clarity the mediation process can provide yields benefits in better securing a party’s interests from a court of law as well.

Purnima Kamble, Partner, at Fox and Mandal and co- panelist stressed on the need for better drafted dispute resolution clauses, especially major government tenders and contracts, due to the complex nature of these contracts. She suggested that adopting the model clause of an arbitral institution can save parties from unnecessary issues to give effect to the arbitration clause.

Rajeev Rambhatla, Head, King Stubb & Kasiva shared his impression on the impact Covid – 19 has had on the dispute resolution space and how the adoption to technology may continue to play an important to increasing the accessibility of Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

A lively question and answer session followed the opening remarks of the panelists with a healthy exchange of ideas taking place. The event was then drawn to a close with a vote of thanks from the Registrar of IAMC, Mr. Tariq Khan who laid emphasis on the role IAMC has been playing in promoting institutional dispute resolution with a brief overview of events and capacity building and skill development programmes IAMC has conducted in the recent past.

This was followed by dinner and drinks. The event was supported by SAMVAAD PARTNERS, and the event saw the participation of senior partners from more than ten leading law firms of India.