Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is increasingly seen as an effective alternative to traditional court based dispute resolution. ADR is speedier, economical and more effective than traditional litigation model. India has also been encouraging use of arbitration, conciliation, mediation and other ADR techniques to settle disputes out of court.ADR may be used for both national as well as international dispute resolution. One area that actively looks upon ADR as a preferential mode of dispute resolution is international commercial arbitration. International commercial arbitration in India has also invoked interest of foreign investors and international business community.
International commercial arbitration is no more the simple one as it used to be. The emerging trends in International commercial arbitration indicate that it has become complicated and more demanding. This is especially true when information and communication technology (ICT) is used for dispute resolution. The advent of online dispute resolution (ODR) is a classic example of the same. Further, ODR is no more just technical or legal. Rather it has become techno legal in nature.
Both online dispute resolution in India and international commercial arbitration in India have been trying their level best to cope up with the contemporary international standards. However, even the international standards are themselves not uniform and there is an urgent need to have harmonised standards for ODR.
The scope of international commercial arbitration in India is increasing day by day. It can be availed of for disputes arising out of contracts on sales of goods, distributorship, agency and intermediary contracts, construction, engineering and infrastructure contracts, intellectual property contracts, domain name dispute resolutions, joint venture agreements, maritime contracts, employment contracts, etc.
India needs to fine tune its practices regarding international commercial arbitration, especially those pertaining to ODR. The future disputes resolution would rely heavily upon ICT and adapting the current dispute resolution model to the same is need of the hour.
