The international arbitration system is ad hoc and unpredictable, Minister for Law and Justice and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday, adding that India is keen to become a global hub for international arbitration.
“We are very keen about dispute resolution,” the minister said while addressing a conference on international arbitration in BRICS. “Mumbai is coming as a big hub of dispute resolution. I am very keen that Delhi also comes along in the same way. We are in talks. We are very keen to focus India as an important centre of international arbitration and dispute resolution.”
Mr. Prasad said that only a small fraction of them was represented internationally.
The Law Minister’s comments come at a time when British oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy has initiated international arbitration seeking $5.6 billion in compensation from the Indian government against a retrospective tax demand of Rs.29,047 crore made by tax authorities.
West’s dominationIn May, Vodafone said the International Court of Justice was set to name a presiding judge for an arbitration panel to resolve a dispute with the Indian government over a retrospective tax demand.
Speaking about the under-representation of developing countries in the international dispute resolution mechanism, Mr. Prasad questioned the importance given to the West in these matters.
“Why should some centres of the world become centres of dispute resolution for the entire world?
“Why should only some ‘queen council barristers’ keep on roaming about from one arbitration to another?” Mr. Prasad said, adding that 69.8 per cent of the international arbitrators belong to the first world or the developed world.
‘Ad hoc’“The international arbitration system is ad hoc and quite frequently unpredictable,” he said. “That concern is indeed very important. If BRICS countries have 42 per cent of the world’s population and 30 per cent of the land area and are contributing so much for the economic ecosystem of the world, why do we see less and less arbitrators from these regions in the world’s dispute redressal mechanism?”
Bilateral treatiesMr. Prasad also referred to the system of bilateral investment treaties and how the current system seemed problematic.
“India has had a mixed experience with bilateral investment treaties,” the minister said.
