'Be cautious signing bilateral and multilateral treaties'
Citing the Dabhol power project's arbitration issue as a case, Union Minister of Law and Justice H R Bhardwaj on Friday said caution needed to be exercised while signing bilateral and multilateral treaties.
NEW DELHI: Citing the Dabhol power project's arbitration issue as a case, Union Minister of Law and Justice H R Bhardwaj on Friday said caution needed to be exercised while signing bilateral and multilateral treaties.
He acknowledged that India lagged behind other countries in institutional arbitration and asked the the legal community to urgently acquire the knowledge and skill in this field to help the country emerge as a global leader in legal field.
"Although the bilateral and multilateral treaties have given birth to a growing body of jurisprudence, it must be remembered that caution must be exercised before signing these treaties because on undertakes to do much more than, say, a commercial contract," he said inaugurating a conference on Critical Issues in International Commercial Arbitration here.
"India has had its share of investment disputes namely the infamous Dabhol Arbitration," he said.
The arbitration route, tried by US energy giant Enron's Dhabol Power Company in 2001, appeared to have failed to yield much during its fight with Maharashtra government over the price of power from the USD 3 billion-project, the first one to get the Centre's counter-guarantee.
"There is an urgent need for creating awareness on the arbitral process amongst the legal fraternity for the creation of a new brand of arbitrators...time has come when India should seriously contemplate a separate bar for arbitration," Bhardwaj said
The two-day conference is being jointly organised by the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions, FICCI and the Indian Council of Arbitration.
He acknowledged that India lagged behind other countries in institutional arbitration and asked the the legal community to urgently acquire the knowledge and skill in this field to help the country emerge as a global leader in legal field.
"Although the bilateral and multilateral treaties have given birth to a growing body of jurisprudence, it must be remembered that caution must be exercised before signing these treaties because on undertakes to do much more than, say, a commercial contract," he said inaugurating a conference on Critical Issues in International Commercial Arbitration here.
"India has had its share of investment disputes namely the infamous Dabhol Arbitration," he said.
The arbitration route, tried by US energy giant Enron's Dhabol Power Company in 2001, appeared to have failed to yield much during its fight with Maharashtra government over the price of power from the USD 3 billion-project, the first one to get the Centre's counter-guarantee.
"There is an urgent need for creating awareness on the arbitral process amongst the legal fraternity for the creation of a new brand of arbitrators...time has come when India should seriously contemplate a separate bar for arbitration," Bhardwaj said
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The two-day conference is being jointly organised by the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions, FICCI and the Indian Council of Arbitration.
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