Soumya Yadav, Author at SCC Times

‘The breakthrough is not AI giving information, but AI giving insights’: Legal leaders discuss how judgment can be embedded into technology at LegalTechTalk 2026

The legal industry is moving from information to intelligence, a shift examined in the session “From Information to Intelligence: How Law Firms Embed Legal Judgment in Technology” at LegalTechTalk 2026, where speakers highlighted AI’s role in scaling expertise while keeping human judgment at the centre of legal decision-making.

AI in-house legal function LegalTechTalk 2026

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘AI is eliminating administrative legal work, not lawyers’: Experts discuss AI’s role in rewiring the in-house legal function at LegalTechTalk 2026

The session “The New Legal Stack: How AI Is Rewiring the In-House Legal Function” at LegalTechTalk 2026 highlighted that while AI is transforming research, workflows, compliance, and contract management, leaders from Airbnb and Wordsmith stressed that human judgment remains essential for complex legal strategy, negotiation, and decision-making.

advocates welfare health insurance annual premium Jharkhand

Case Briefs High Courts

Jharkhand HC: State’s Undertaking on ₹6,000 Annual Premium for Advocates’ Health Insurance Binding; Non-Publication of Resolution in Official Gazette No Bar to Implementation

Jharkhand High Court, in a petition concerning welfare measures for practising advocates, observed that State resolutions and budgetary allocations for health insurance were already in place, and held that the reliefs prayed for stood substantially worked out.

Events & Collaborations ICA Conference

ICA 2026 | ‘Mediation Has Limited Growth Potential on the Commercial Side’: Experts Debate Future of Hybrid ADR in Indo-UK Commercial Dispute

A technical session at the ICA Conference on “Arbitrating Indo-UK Commercial Disputes” highlighted that while hybrid ADR frameworks are gaining traction, corporate users remain cautious about mediation’s role in high-value disputes, and arbitration, despite concerns of cost and complexity, continues to be the preferred mechanism for certainty and enforceability in Indo-UK commerce.

Events & Collaborations Institutional Events

Fundamental Rights Must Protect Citizens with Equal Ferocity in Both the Physical and Digital Worlds: CJI Surya Kant at Oxford Union on AI, Access to Justice and Constitutional Governance

Delivering an address at the Oxford Union, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant said technology has the power to democratise justice but must remain anchored to constitutional values and human judgment, emphasising that innovation should complement rather than replace the human heart of justice.

mediation arbitration India UK commercial disputes

Events & Collaborations Institutional Events

As International Arbitration Mirrors Complexities It Was Designed to Escape, Mediation Emerges as the Frontier of Commercial Agility: CJI Surya Kant at UK Supreme Court

At the UK Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant urged modern legal systems to shift from “forum convenience” to “process convenience,” positioning mediation as the next frontier of commercial justice while reaffirming the complementary role of courts and arbitration.

AI arbitrator New York Convention enforcement

Events & Collaborations ICA Conference

‘Those AI Solutions Must Have Their Foundations in Our Own Laws’: Sir Geoffrey Vos on AI, Digital Sovereignty and the Future of Arbitration at ICA’s 4th Indo-UK Conference

If the AI systems driving arbitral decisions are trained on materials from other jurisdictions, the awards they generate may be unenforceable or worse, systematically biased. Sir Geoffrey Vos used his keynote at the ICA’s 4th Indo-UK Commercial Disputes Conference to draw a line between AI in arbitration, where party consent makes adoption feasible, and AI in courts, where constitutional legitimacy makes it impossible.

India arbitration hub global commercial disputes

Events & Collaborations ICA Conference

‘In India, Arbitration Is an Emotion, Not Just Business’: Dr. N. G. Khaitan Highlights India’s Rise as a Global Arbitration Hub at ICA’s 4th Indo-UK Conference

India’s growing trade ties, pro-arbitration judiciary, and legal reforms are opening new avenues for cross-border dispute resolution, with Dr. N. G. Khaitan at the ICA’s Indo-UK conference in London urging global businesses to see India not just as a commercial hub but as an emerging centre for arbitration.

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

‘It Is a Great Tool, Not a Master’: Legal Leaders Debate AI’s Growing Influence on the Legal Profession

Artificial intelligence is making lawyers faster, research more accessible and legal services more efficient. But as AI systems become increasingly sophisticated, legal practitioners are confronting a more difficult question: how can the profession embrace technological transformation without surrendering the human judgment, ethics and accountability that lie at the heart of legal practice?

mediation vs arbitration commercial disputes

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

LIDW26 | From the Mahabharata to the Mediation Act, 2023: India and England Compare Notes on Why Mediation Is Winning

India’s mediation tradition predates its legislation by millennia. England’s mediation culture was built by judicial pressure and adverse costs. At LIDW 2026, practitioners from both jurisdictions found more agreement than disagreement and a shared frustration with what arbitration has become.

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

‘If This Industry Wobbles, It Is Not a Contract in Dispute — It Is a Systemic Event’: Inside the Emerging World of Data Centre Disputes at LIDW 2026

Experts examined how data centre projects are generating disputes involving AI infrastructure, energy supply, construction risk, data regulation and damages assessment, highlighting the growing gap between technological innovation and legal frameworks.

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

Common Heritage or a Free-for-All Regime? LIDW26 Panel Explores Legal Challenges in the Deep Sea, Polar Regions and Outer Space

From deep-sea mining and Arctic trade routes to lunar resource extraction and orbital congestion, experts at LIDW26 examined whether existing international legal frameworks can withstand growing geopolitical rivalry, commercial competition and technological change.

geopolitical risks international arbitration

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

Disputes in an ‘Unruly World’: Sean West Warns of New Risks at the Intersection of Geopolitics, Law and AI at LIDW26

At LIDW26, Mr. Sean West examined how geopolitical fragmentation, legal uncertainty and rapid advances in artificial intelligence are creating an increasingly “unruly” world and reshaping the future of international dispute resolution.

Due Process Challenges and Public Policy Review in Indian Arbitration

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

Due Process Challenges and Public Policy Review: How Indian Courts Draw the Line in Arbitration — Lessons from LIDW 2026

The distinction drawn at LIDW26 between due process challenges and public policy review finds a close parallel in Indian arbitration jurisprudence, where courts examine procedural fairness and public policy concerns through separate legal lenses.

Reimagining Arbitration Three Bold Ideas

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

Hold Counsels Accountable, Study How Arbitrators Think, and Run Every Case Through AI First: Three Bold Ideas From LIDW26

At International Arbitration Day at LIDW26, leading arbitration practitioners proposed three bold reforms for the future of dispute resolution: institutional sanctions against counsel misconduct, scientific analysis of persuasion and decision-making, and mandatory AI-assisted case assessments before arbitration.

Events & Collaborations London International Disputes Week

Is Arbitration Getting Worse or Are Courts Getting More Activist? LIDW26 Panel Takes On Due Process, Public Policy and AI Risks

At International Arbitration Day during LIDW26, leading practitioners, academics and judges examined due process challenges in arbitration, discussing public policy review, the Semenya litigation, corruption-based challenges, AI-assisted decision-making, expert evidence and judicial scrutiny of arbitral awards.

Case Briefs High Courts

Madras HC: Documentary Proof Enough, DNA Test Not Required for Mother to Donate Kidney to Son

The High Court noted that since documentary evidence clearly established the mother-son relationship, the Authorisation Committee’s refusal was arbitrary and unsustainable, and therefore directed immediate permission for transplantation without delay.

Case Briefs High Courts

Unreliable DNA, Doubtful Victim Testimony, Contradictions, Delay, No TIP: Bombay HC Acquits Rape Accused as Investigation Lapses Pile Up

The Bombay High Court noted that since the FIR was registered under Section 376 IPC without prima facie examination of the allegations and given the unexplained delay and contradictions in the victim’s statements, the prosecution case lacked legal foundation and the conviction was liable to be set aside.

Penalty under RTI Act unsustainable without mala fide

Case Briefs High Courts

Penalty under RTI Act Unsustainable Without Finding of Mala Fide: Chhattisgarh HC Quashes State Information Commission’s ₹25,000 Order

The High Court noted that since the State Information Commission failed to record any findings on mala fide denial, unreasonable delay, or contumacious conduct, the penalty order lacked legal foundation and was therefore liable to be quashed.

Cyprus Arbitration Day Events & Collaborations

Cyprus Eurasia Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Center: What CEDRAC Does and Why It Matters — Cyprus Arbitration Day 2026

CEDRAC was showcased by Christodoulos Christodoulou, reflecting its evolution into a more active and operational institution. His remarks underscored CEDRAC’s commitment to neutrality, procedural flexibility, and the institutional support that strengthens its role in international arbitration