The Vodafone versus India investment treaty arbitratoin has its origins in 2007 when Vodafone acquired a majority stake in India’s Hutchison Essar[1]. It was a Cayman island transaction. Essentially, Vodafone used the tax haven to escape the jurisdiction of India’s tax authorities. Retroactive Taxation It was therefore unsurprising when, in 2012, the Indian Supreme Court […]
India Arbitration
Arbitration Law in India – Two Indian Parties Can Choose a Foreign Seat of Arbitration
The Delhi High Court ruled that two Indian parties can agree in the arbitration clause to have a foreign seat of arbitration, i.e. outside India. The two Indian parties, Doosan India and GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Limited entered into a contract regarding the development of a 1350 MW Coal Fired Thermal Power Plant in Chhattisgarh. The […]
Validity of Appellate Arbitration Clauses
The validity of appellate arbitration clauses has been upheld in India. In some arbitration clauses, parties may elect to resort to appellate arbitration clauses that provide for an appellate mechanism with respect to an award in order to correct errors. While prolonging the duration of arbitration, these clauses are sometimes desired as arbitral awards cannot […]
New Arbitration Centre in India
A new arbitration centre in India is opening in the Indian city of Gurugram, located just southwest from New Delhi. The initiative for this new arbitration centre came from the Punjab and Harayana High Court. Although due to lengthy administrative procedures and government approvals it might take a few years for it to become operative, […]
Indian Investment Arbitration Regime Changes
Since the beginning of 2012, India has enacted significant changes with respect to the Indian investment arbitration regime. A new model Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”) was approved in 2015 and will be used to renegotiate all future BIT’s signed by India. In 2016, India also terminated its existing BIT’s with 57 countries, showing India’s intent to withdraw from the Investor-State […]
Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA)
The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) was established in India as a joint initiative between the Government of Maharashtra and the domestic and international business and legal communities, in order to transform Mumbai into a major international financial centre. It hopes to bring most Indian cases back from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), […]
