Arbitration: Principal Civil Court of Original Jurisdiction

Abstract

Despite arbitration being the chosen method of dispute resolution in businesses, it is often seen that the matters somehow reach the court and then they are lost in the maze of procedure and legal technicalities. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, defines court as the principal civil court of original jurisdiction. In all the districts, this means that it is the court of the district judge and district judge only. The district judge cannot even delegate the matters to additional district judges. As the district judge is responsible for a number of other matters including criminal matters (the district and sessions judge positions are often combined in one), he hardly has time to dispose of matters of arbitration. Owing to paucity of time, matters are adjourned several times which increases the time of resolution of business disputes.