In the backdrop of LIDW 2026, the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) held the 4th Edition of the International Conference on “Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes” on the theme “ADR as a Catalyst for Strengthening India-UK Economic Partnership”.
After several opening and keynote addresses delivered by the dignitaries, such as the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, and Dr. N.G. Khaitan, President of ICA and Senior Partner at Khaitan & Co., the conference kick-started with a small fireside chat titled “Building the India—UK Economic Corridor: The Role of Law, Institutions, and ADR”. The discussion included two esteemed panellists, namely, Ms. Geeta Luthra, Vice President, ICA and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and Ms. Katie Byrne, Partner and National Head, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Irwin Mitchell LLP.
Reforming the Domestic and Attracting the Foreign
Responding to whether India should prioritize domestic dispute resolution reforms before attempting to attract international disputes, Ms. Geeta Luthra rejected the notion that the two objectives are mutually exclusive. According to her, India must improve domestic enforcement mechanisms while simultaneously positioning itself as an international arbitration destination.
She identified several concerns in the Indian arbitration mechanism:
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Courts continue to grant extensions in arbitral proceedings too readily.
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Delays persist in the disposal of challenges under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
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Enforcement remains a critical bottleneck even after awards are secured.
She emphasized that confidence between India and the UK must be reciprocal rather than one-sided. “We both have to have confidence in each other’s systems. It can’t be the UK having confidence in us because I have to also repose confidence in them. It’s a two-way system.”
She proposed several reforms, including:
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Creation of a common pool of international arbitrators.
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Development of anonymised precedent libraries.
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Independent review mechanisms to assess arbitrator performance.
Acknowledging that such reforms may be uncomfortable and potentially exclusionary, she nevertheless argued that difficult decisions are necessary if India is serious about becoming a leading arbitration center.
Predictability and Rule of Law in Investment Decisions
Regarding the perspective of international businesses and investors while assessing a market, Ms. Katie Byrne stressed that dispute resolution infrastructure has become a critical factor in investment decisions. She noted that geopolitical instability has heightened the importance of jurisdictions that offer legal certainty and predictability.
Thus, she underscored that businesses increasingly evaluate:
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Enforceability of judgments and awards.
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Stability of legal institutions.
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Predictability of outcomes.
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Strength of the rule of law.
Regarding India, Ms. ,Byrne expressed confidence that strong historical and legal connections between India and the UK provide a solid foundation for deeper cooperation. She also cited the recently concluded free trade agreement as a fundamental factor in strengthening trust and creating opportunities for India in the legal trade.
Judicial Intervention in Arbitral Awards
On whether Indian courts have struck the right balance between arbitral autonomy and judicial oversight, Ms. Luthra candidly stated that India is still searching for that equilibrium.
She observed that while the initial 1996 approach initially favoured minimal interference, the courts later expanded intervention to correct glaring errors. According to her, excessive intervention often causes concerns about the quality and consistency of arbitral awards.
She argued that better arbitrators, stronger case-management protocols, and more robust institutional mechanisms would naturally reduce judicial interference.
Ms. Luthra stated that while confidentiality and transparency were important aspects, transparency ensured impartiality, but confidentiality made the arbitrator immune to criticism.
She again suggested publication of anonymised awards and creation of an extensive arbitration precedent library. Additionally, she suggested that there must be a greater scrutiny of arbitrator performance before awards are issued.
Cost, Delay, and Unpredictability
When asked what concerns clients most: delay, cost, or unpredictability, Ms. ,Byrne opined that unpredictability poses the greatest challenge.
She acknowledged that in the UK, litigation and arbitration were ridiculously expensive. Arbitration started as a cheaper option, but it too became costly. Similarly, delay was commonplace due to huge backlogs in courts. While clients generally expect some degree of delay and costs, unpredictability was a fixable issue.
“From my perspective, 10 years ago, you would see more and more clients wanting to arbitrate, and now, particularly in the UK, it’s not so clear-cut, because arbitration now is very expensive, and gone are the days when you could say to a client, it will be quicker and cheaper.”
She opined that there was so much data and evidence that was being used in arbitrations, leading to extensive and expensive proceedings. Thus, the challenge was to create a dispute resolution system that is strong, reputable, trusted, cheaper, and without delay.
Mediation’s Rise Reflects Arbitration’s Faults
Addressing the growing prominence of mediation, Ms. Luthra agreed that mediation has gained popularity largely because arbitration has become too expensive. However, it was difficult to make an arbitrator go for mediation as there would be a new subset of mediators. Despite criticism of arbitration’s inefficiencies, she maintained that well-managed arbitrations with skilled arbitrators can still deliver decisions within months.
“Mediation has become a more reasonable remedy. So, in India, I believe, arbitration was always more expensive than litigation, but because it was the quicker remedy, you looked at your pros and cons.”
While mediation may reduce costs, there were pressure tactics deployed against weaker parties. She suggested that mediation integrated within arbitration proceedings may be more effective than standalone mediation.
Arbitrator Appointment Crisis
Regarding the concentration of appointments among a relatively small group of arbitrators, Ms. Luthra observed that there was a minuscule amount of arbitrations in India. She suggested that institutional arbitration must become the norm in India.
She identified this as one of arbitration’s “elephants in the room”, stating that the culture of only appointing retired judges repeatedly, particularly in high-stakes matters, was not necessarily correct. She suggested that arbitrator pools should be broadened, i.e., more practitioners, international experts, and women arbitrators should be included.
However, she acknowledged that party autonomy limits the ability of institutions to dictate appointments. The only thing institutions could do is to have excellent arbitrators on board.
“But for the parties, some of them may ask for suggestions; most will not. They were all into arbitration and litigation in a big way. They will already know who they want as counsels, who they want as arbitrators, and whether both parties agree or disagree.”
On the question of parties choosing arbitrators with whom they have connections, Ms. Luthra responded that this was another elephant in the room, as a lot of parties wanted an assured win.
Publishing of Awards
Ms. ,Byrne agreed that publishing anonymized awards could benefit the aim of transparency, provided confidentiality was maintained. She emphasised the value of arbitral precedents and balancing confidentiality with transparency.
Emerging Areas for Reform
Artificial Intelligence:
Ms. Byrne underscored the importance of regulating AI, which was moving faster than legislative attempts at containing it.
Ms. Luthra welcomed India’s evolving AI regulatory framework but argued that existing jurisprudence remains insufficient to address complex evidentiary and procedural issues arising from AI use. She stressed the need for disclosure obligations regarding AI-assisted drafting and verification of AI-generated content. She also discussed the Draft AI Rules issued by the Supreme Court.
Third-Party Funding:
Ms. ,Byrne mentioned that, though the UK was yet to regulate it properly, third-party funding did provide access to justice and sharing litigation risk, despite concerns around conflict of interest.
“Resolution has to be key rather than litigation, and it’s all encumbered on us lawyers to make sure that we’re promoting the resolution of a dispute, not the dispute itself.”
Ms. Luthra noted that India has begun addressing the issue through recent judicial developments, but suggested that a more comprehensive regulatory framework will eventually be required.
What Single Reform Would Most Improve Investor Confidence?
Ms. Luthra answered that for investors, the real challenge is not obtaining an award but enforcing it. She pointed to recent judicial developments aimed at simplifying enforcement but stressed that investors must be confident they can recover awarded sums, repatriate funds efficiently, and avoid prolonged post-award litigation.
Ms. ,Byrne agreed that enforceability remains a decisive issue; however, she added that reforms must be durable and resilient. Unenforceability of awards creates unpredictability, which costs investor confidence.
The panel concluded with the acknowledgement that while there had been significant progress in India’s arbitration landscape, issues like enforceability, predictability, and confidence in arbitral processes remain the decisive tests for international investors.
SCC Times reported the 4th Edition of the International Conference on “Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes,” organised by the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) on 5 June 2026 at Church House Westminster, London, as part of London International Disputes Week 2026.
SCC Times extends its appreciation to Zehra Naqvi, EBC—SCC Online Foreign Student Ambassador and Lawyer, for her on ground presence, valuable assistance and contribution to the reporting of this event.
Read more LIDW 2026 Coverage HERE.
