Excessive judicial interference is not investor friendly: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

NEW YORK: "Excessive" judicial interference is not investor friendly and the government is considering changes in the laws to streamline the judicial process, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

Some of the "interventionist judgements" of the courts have been examined by the government and the Law Commission in India and changes have been suggested in the country's dispute redressal laws, he said at a function here.

The minister said that those changes are now before the Cabinet.

Observing that India's legal system is "somewhat slow", Jaitley said "excessive interference or a tendency to have excessive judicial interference is not necessarily a move which is friendly to the interest of investors itself".

Citing example of infrastructure sector, he said, "When India did legislate in terms of global compatibility, dispute redressal laws for international commercial arbitration etc., the courts interpreted it to mean that 'our jurisdictions are still not ousted, we can interfere',".

This approach has proved counter-productive for India as contracting parties do not relish excessive judicial interference, he added.

He further said that overseas arbitration is a costly affair for Indian companies.

Jaitley in on a nine-day visit to the US.