When Does Delivery Of The Arbitral Award To The Parties Complete

Under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("the Act"), as amended up to date, the remedies in respect of arbitral award are to be availed within rigid timelines, which are provided under the Act. A party can seek correction of error, interpretation or even additional award by filing an application before the Tribunal within 30 days from the date of receipt of the arbitral award. If, however, a party wishes to challenge the award, it can do so by filing an application before the...

Not All Disputes Are Amenable To The Jurisdiction Of Electricity Commission: PPAs Cannot Be Terminated During Moratorium

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in its order dated 08.03.2021 in the matter titled Gujarat Vikas Nigam Limited Vs. Mr. Amit Gupta & Ors. ("Instant Matter"), while upholding order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ("NCLAT") held that National Company Law Tribunal ("NCLT") has jurisdiction to adjudicate contractual disputes which arise solely from or which relate to corporate debtor's insolvency. In Instant Matter, the Hon'ble Court has dealt with the role/power of NCLT to...

"New Normal"-ICC Amends The Rules For "Cleaner" And "Greener" Arbitration

The fast-changing world, complexities in arbitration and the growing needs of arbitration community across the globe, stimulated the International Chamber of Commerce ("ICC") to codify certain arbitral practices and refresh its approach in the form of a new set of Rules called the ICC Arbitration Rules,2021 ("New Rules"). Proposed in December 2020 by the ICC, New Rules have come into force from January 1, 2021, and shall apply to arbitrations commencing on or after January 1, 2021,...

The Conundrum Of "Unpublished Information" Under The Insider Trading Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 ("Insider Trading Regulations") prohibit trading in listed securities when in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information ("UPSI"). Therefore one question which invariably needs to be addressed in such matters is whether the information that was alleged to be UPSI was "unpublished." In a recent order issued by the SEBI in February 2021, Future Corporate Resources Private Limited,...

Formation Of Contract- When Completes

In one of its most recent judgments, in the case of Padia Timber Company (P) Ltd. Vs The Board of Trustees of Visakhapatnam Port Trust Through its Secretary[1], the Hon'ble Supreme Court considered the issue of regarding formation of the contract between the parties, which was the bone of contention between the parties. The Hon'ble Apex Court found that neither the trial court nor the high court had considered this crucial issue, while deciding the case. Factual Matrix: The...

Purpose And Procedure For Drafting A Family Constitution

A family constitution essentially is a charter that documents the values and principles of a family business. The contents of the family constitution essentially underline the values and principles of the business while also providing reference for strategic objectives or decision-making procedures concerning ownership or management. Since each family does not have the same composition or structure, a family constitution will vastly differ. Even in terms of conflict resolution, a family...

New Rules For Digital Media Intermediaries: How Far Is Too Far?

On February 25, 2021, the Indian government unveiled the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (the "New Rules"). Once notified in the Official Gazette, the Intermediary Rules will supersede the decade-old Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 (the "Intermediary Guidelines") as the Indian government strives to keep up with the rapid digitization in India. Divided into three (3) parts, the New Rules aim to...

Position Of Emergency Arbitrator And Emergency Award In India

As a measure to provide urgent interim relief, the concept of emergency arbitration has come up in the field of arbitration. Almost all the international arbitration centres such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) as well as arbitration centres closer home such as Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) and others...

The Arbitration And Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021 – Forwards Or Backwards?

The recent Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 ("the Bill") proposes to bring in two significant amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 ("the Act"). In our view, the Bill proposes some significant changes which would push forward India's ambition to emerge as a hub of International Commercial arbitration. However, it also includes a provision that would prolong collateral litigation surrounding arbitration in India. The first amendment proposed by...

Important Changes To India's Corporate Social Responsibility Regime

In April 2014, the Indian government introduced a detailed corporate social responsibility ("CSR") regime as a part of the then newly introduced Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act"). As per Section 135 of the Act, CSR obligations apply to all companies, who, in the preceding financial year have a: net worth of at least INR5 billion (approx. US$69 million);turnover of at least INR10 billion (approx. US$138 million); ornet profit of at least INR50 million (approx. US$689,000). All such ...

A Wholesome IPR Scheme For Start-Ups And Small Enterprise

We all have often heard that startups and small enterprises are the very life blood of the country's economy and they are also the key contributors to a country's innovation and technology index. To aid innovation and technology, the Government of India has come up with an all-inclusive patent scheme specially for start-ups and small enterprises. We shall highlight a few key points that might be beneficial to start-ups and small enterprises and can help them to safeguard their innovations...

Copyright Framework: The Panacea For The Non-Personal Data Governance

In September 2019, an Expert Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) to deliberate on issues related to Non-Personal Data ("NPD"). The committee released two reports, one in May 2020 and thereafter a revised report in December 2020, relating to the creation of a governance framework for NPD. The task assigned to the Committee was to study various issues relating to NPD and to make specific suggestions for consideration of the Central...