Courts can intervene in institutional arbitration disputes

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Bombay High Court has ruled that courts retain the authority to intervene in disputes arising from institutional arbitration. This decision clarifies that parties agreement to institutional arbitration doesn't automatically restrict courts power under Section 14 of the Arbitration Act.

Justice Bharati Dangre emphasized that the Act doesn't differentiate between institutional and ad-hoc arbitration regarding court intervention. The case involved Era International challenging the appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute with Aditya Birla Global Trading. Era argued that the chosen arbitrator lacked impartiality due to prior association with Aditya Birla's legal representation.

The court agreed with Era and directed the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration to appoint a new, independent arbitrator within four weeks. This verdict upholds judicial oversight in ensuring fairness within institutional arbitration proceedings.