INTERVENTION BY COURT One of the major defects of earlier arbitration law was that the party could access Court almost at every stage of arbitration right from appointment of arbitrator to implementation of final award. Thus, the defending party could approach Court at various stages and stall the proceedings. Now, approach to Court has been drastically curtailed. In some cases, if an objection is raised by the party, the decision on that objection can be given by Arbitral Tribunal itself. After the decision, the arbitration proceedings are continued and the aggrieved party can approach Court only after Arbitral award is made. Appeal to Court is now only on restricted grounds. Of course, Tribunal cannot be given unlimited and uncontrolled powers and supervision of Courts cannot be totally eliminated. An application to challenge the award will not be maintainable if the party proposing to challenge it has accepted and acted upon it. The Supreme Court in Pooran Chand Nangia Vs National fertilisers Ltd, 285 held that the appellant had received the money, which was due to him under the award accepting it unequivocally and without any reserve and so the challenge was not maintainable that it did not lie in his mouth to challenge the award. In Union of India Vs Popular Constructions Co, 286 the Supreme Court held that by virtue of Sec34 (1), recourse to the Court against an arbitral award cannot be made beyond the prescribed period. The time limit prescribed under Sec 34 to challenge an award is absolute and un extendable by Court under Section 5 of Limitation Act. In the Venturee Global Engineering Vs. Satyam Computer Services Ltd. and Another 287 it was held that, in case of international commercial arbitrations held out of India provisions of Part I would apply unless the parties by agreement express or implied, excludee all or any of its provisions. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has limited the powers of Court. This Act has restricted the exercisee of judicial powers, in other words confined the extent of judicial intervention as provided under Section 5 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Section 5 says that, "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, in matters governed by this part, no judicial authority shall intervene except where so providedd in this part. " The Supreme Court of India in the case of P. Anand Gajapathi Raju Vs P.V.G Raju 288 held that, section 5 brings out clearly the object of the 1996 Act, namely, that of encouraging resolution of dispute expeditiously and less expensively and when there is an arbitration agreement, the Court s intervention should be minimal. Finality of Arbitral Award under Section 35 is subject to the part according to which an arbitral award shall be final and binding on the parties and persons claiming under them respectively. Thus, Section 36 of the 1996 Act provided finality of arbitral awards and its enforcement, withoutt interventionn of the Court. The Arbitral Tribunals are empowered to settle any objections rose in respect of jurisdiction or scope of authority of the arbitrators. The 1996 Act provides for appeals against orders granting or refusing to grant interim measures of protection under section 9 and orders setting aside or refusing to set aside, the arbitral award under section 17 shall lie to the Court authorized by law to heree the appeals from original decrees of the Court passing the order. 289. Orders concerning the jurisdiction or authority of the tribunal or award 1
under Section 16(2), (3) are also appealable. The appellate Court is usually the High Court. No other statutory appeal is provided. Section 37 (3) prohibits a second appeal against the appellate order under section 37 (1) and (2). Thesee mandatory provisions shut the door on the face of the second appeal whether through Scetion100 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, or a Letters Patent appeal. In Nirma Ltd Vs Lurgi Lent Jes Energietechnik GmbH 290 case, dealing with a petition for special leave to appeal under Art 136 of the Constitution, against an appellate order passed by City Civil Court, Ahmedabad under Section 37(2), a two judge Bench of the Supreme Court contented itself by echoing the first part of the Shyam Sundar Agarwal and Co Vs Union of India 291 case stating that, merely because a second appeal against the appellant order is barred by the provisions of Section 37(3) of the Act 1996,the remedy of revision under Section115 of Code of Civil Procedure does not cease to be available to the petitioner. In other words if the Act contains a provision which bars revisional power of the High Court which militates against giving effect to a provision of the Act, the revisional jurisdiction will stand superseded under the Act. Any subsequent appeal can go only to the Supreme Court by way of a special leave 292. APPEALS Appealable Orders: 1) An appeal shall lie from the following orders (and from no others) to the court authorised by law to hear appeals from original decrees of the Court passing the order, namely : a. granting or refusing to grant any measure under section 9; b. setting aside or refusing to set aside an arbitral award under Section 34. 2) An appeal shall also lie to a court from an order of the arbitral tribunal : a. accepting the plea referred to in sub section( (2) or sub section (3) of Section 16; or b. granting or refusing to grant an interim measure under Section 17. 3) No second appeal shall lie from an order passed in appeal under this section, but nothing if this section shall affect or take away any right to appeal to the Supreme Court. Appeal against interim measures and Setting aside [Section 37(1)] : An appeal lies under this sub section against an order of the court granting or refusing to grant any measure under Section 9 and also against setting aside or refusing to set aside an award. Appeals against orders of court [Section 37(1)] : The following orders of the court under the Arbitration Act are appealable : An order 1) under Section 9 granting or refusing to grant an interim measure of protection, and 2) an order under Section 34 setting aside or refusing to set aside an arbitral award. 2
Appeal against orders of Arbitral Tribunal [Section 37(2)] : Sub section (2) provides for an appeal against the orderr of the Arbitral Tribunal made under Section 17 granting or refusing to grant an interim measure of protection. There is no provision for appeal against orders under Section 11 appointing or refusing to appoint an arbitrator. Second Appeal [Section 37(3)] : This sub section provides that no second appeal shall lie from an order in appeal. In view of the bar created by sub section (2) [now Section 37 (3) of 1996 Act] against second appeal from an order passed in appeal under sub section (1), the conclusion is inevitable that the bar was brought to confine appeals to strict limits. This was followed in State of West Bengal v. Gourangalal. Chatterjee, (1993) 3 SCC 1 : (1993) 2 Arb LR 95. In this case, there was an order of a Single Judge revoking the authority of the chief engineer as an arbitrator because of his failure to act and directing a retired chief engineer to act as an arbitrator. The order was not covered by any of the clauses of Section 39(1) of 1940 Act. It was held that no appeal would lie to a Division Bench either under sub section (2) or under the Letters Patent against the order of the Single Judge even if it was passed in the exercise of original jurisdiction. Even otherwise, the person who was appointed was technically qualified and no allegation was there against him, the order of the Single Judge appointing him did not suffer from any infirmity. New Point in Appeal : Where the State Government did not raise any specific ground before the trial court that the award of interest was not in terms of the contract or was without the authority of law and permitted the award, as it was, to be made a rule of the court and converted into a decree, the Government was not permitted to raise this point for the first time in appeal. The appeal was not maintainable. Where the appeal was at the final stage of hearing, an attempt to introduce for the first time a new technical point that the document produced in the court as award was only a copy of the award engrossed on stamp paper was not allowed. Q.1. In which case does an appeal lie against an order passed under arbitration and under Arbitration and Conciliation Act? Explain the provisions regarding appeals. Q2 Explain the scope of the provision of the Act relating to appeals. Lien Definitions and Meaning of lien in English lien nounn 1. the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged 2. a large dark red oval organ on the left side of the body between the stomach and the diaphragm; produces cells involved in immune responses Lien on Arbitral Award and Deposits as to costss 3
1) Subject to the provisions of sub section (2) and to any provision to the contrary in the arbitration agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall have a lien on the arbitral award for any unpaid costs of the arbitration. 2) If in any case an arbitral tribunal refuses to deliver its award except on payment of the costs demanded by it, the Court may, on an application in this behalf, order that the arbitral tribunal shall deliver the arbitral award to the applicant on payment into Court by the applicant of the costs demanded, and shall, after such inquiry, if any, as it thinks fit, further order that out of the money so paid into Court there shall be paid to the arbitral tribunal by way of costs such sum as the Court may consider reasonable and that the balance of the money, if any, shall be refunded to the applicant. 3) An application under sub section (2) may be made by any party unless the fees demandedd have been fixed by written agreement between him and the arbitral tribunal, and the arbitral tribunal shall be entitled to appear and be heard on any such application. 4) The Court may make such orders as it thinks fit respecting the costs of the arbitration where any question arises respecting such costs and the arbitral award contains no sufficient provision concerning them. Lien on award for costs : The matters of costs of arbitration can be decided by the parties by their agreement. Subject to any such agreement, the Tribunal would have a lien (the right to retain the award) on the award for unpaid costs of arbitration. An application can be made to the court over this matter. The court may ask the applicant to deposit the amount of the unpaid costs and order the Tribunal to deliver the award. The court may then enquire into the matter and may award costs to the Tribunal and order the balance amount to be refunded to the applicant. The arbitral Tribunal is entitled to be heard in the disposal of the application. Where the award does not contain sufficient provision as to costs, the court may make such order as to costs as it thinks fit. Lien on award : Sub section (1) gives to the arbitral tribunal a lien on the award for the payment of its costs. This means thatt the Tribunal can withhold the award and refusee to give copies to the parties until all its costs are paid. This is subject to any provision to the contrary in the arbitration agreement. Order by Court to Deliver Award : If the Arbitral Tribunal exercises its lien, a party may apply to the court and the court may order the Tribunal to deliver the award to the party on payment into court of the costs demanded by the Tribunal. After inquiring into the matter the court may order that out of the money so paid an amount which the court considers reasonable be paid to the Tribunal, and the balance, if any, be refunded to the applicant. At the hearing of the application the Tribunal will be entitled to appear and to be heard. Where an arbitrator refuses to deliver his award except on payment of fee demanded by him, the aggrieved party may apply to the court. The court may ask the party to deposit the requisite amount in the court and then ask the arbitrator to deliver his award. The court may then enquire into the matter to ascertain whether the fee demanded is reasonable. If it is not so, the court may authorise the payment of a reasonable amount to the arbitrator and the balance to be refunded to the party. 4
An application under the section can be made by any party but not by a party who has made a written agreement with the arbitrator as to fees. The arbitrator is also entitled to appear whenever any application about his fee is under consideration. Where the award does not contain any sufficient provision about costs, the court may make any appropriate order about the costs of arbitration. There was no provision like Section 39(1) in the Arbitration Act, 1940, giving the arbitrator a lien over the award for fees and charges, but Section 14(2) of the 1940 Act provided that an arbitrator could be asked to file an award in court only upon payment of fees and charges due in respect of the arbitration. This was held to give him a lien on the award. Section 38 of the Arbitration Act, 1940, [repealed] was exactly in the same terms as Section 39 Subin the section (2), (3) and (4) of the present Act except that the words costs demanded are used while 1940 Act the words fees demanded were used. The word costs includes fee. Fees of Tribunal fixed by agreement : If the fees demanded by the Tribunal have been fixed by a written agreement between the applicant and the Tribunal, no application to the court will lie to compel the Tribunal to deliver the award. It is contrary to the quasi judicial status of an arbitrator that he should bargain unilaterally for his fee with one party. Arbitration agreement not to be discharged by death of party 1) An arbitration agreement shall not be discharged by the death of any party thereto, either as respects the deceased or any other party, but shall in such event be enforceable by against the legal representatives of the deceased. 2) The mandate of an arbitrator shall not be terminated by the death of any party by whom he was appointed. 3) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any law by virtue of which any right of action is extinguished by the death of a person. Effect of death of party : This section lays down a few points about the effect of death of a party upon the arbitration proceedings. Sub section (1) makes the simple declaration that an arbitration agreement shall not be discharged by the death of any party, and sub section (2) supplements the same by saying that the authority of an arbitrator shall not be revoked by the death of any party. Thus the death of a party neither discharges the arbitration agreement nor revokes the authority of the arbitrator. His legal representatives are entitled, and are also bound, to be brought on record. But all this is subject to the provision of sub section (3) that where the right of action is extinguished by the death of a party the arbitration proceedings would abate in the same manner as a suit would have abated. The principle of law is enshrined in the maxim actio personalis moritur cum persona. Certain rights of action die with the man. But this applies only to actions of personal nature, such as the contract to marry, sing or paint. Where an action is capable of surviving beyond the life of the person concerned, it may be enforced by as well as against his legal representatives. This is also true of arbitration proceedings. Where on the death of a party, legal representatives, including those already a party to the arbitration proceedings, were brought on record and theree was contention from the side of the respondentss that 5
upon death of a party the agreement was to become extinguished, the court held that the parties could be referred to arbitration. Related questions Q 7 What is the effect of death of party on Arbitration agreement Q8 What is the effect of insolvency of a party on arbitration agreement Effect of Insolvency [Section 41] : Section 41 deals with the effect of insolvency of a party upon the proceedings. Provisions in Case of Insolvency 1) Where it is provided by a term in a contract to which an insolvent is a party that any dispute arising thereabout or in connection therewith shall be submitted to arbitration, the said term shall, if the receiver adopts the contract, be enforceable by or against him so far as it relates to any such dispute. 2) Where a person who has been judgedd an insolvent had, before the commencement of the insolvency proceedings, become a party to an arbitration agreement, and any matter to which the agreement applies is required to be determinedd in connection with, or for the purposes of the insolvency proceedings, then if the case if one to which sub section authority having jurisdiction in the (1) does not apply, any other party or the receiver may apply to the judicial insolvency proceedings for an order directing that the matter in question shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the arbitration agreement, and the judicial authority may, if it is of opinion that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, the matter ought to be determined by arbitration, make an order accordingly. 3) In this section, the expression receiver includes an Official Assignee. Effect of Insolvency : One of the effects of the involvency of a party is that if the receiver or official assignee adopts the contract (since he has the power to disown certain contracts), which contains the arbitration clause he will becomee bound by the clause and the matter will have to be decided by arbitration. The second rule laid down is that if the matter in dispute has to be decided for the purpose of carrying out the insolvency proceedings and the dispute has arisen by virtue of a contract which provided for arbitration, the receiver or the other party may apply to the court for an order. The order shall pass an order only if it appears to the court that having regard to all the circumstances of the case the matter should be decided by arbitration. REVISION Where a party to an award, who was given an opportunity to file objections to the award, did not avail itself of the opportunity and a decree was passed in terms of the award, it was held that the party was debarred from subsequently challenging the award in revision unless it could be shown that the court had acted without jurisdiction in passing a decree in terms of the award. 6
It is within the competency of the High Court to entertain a petition in revision dismissing an application for filing an award and passing a decree thereon. against an order Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, (as amended by U.P. Civil Laws (Amendment) Act of 1963) is confined to cases arising out of original suits and proceedings under sections 14 to 17, 20, 21 and 32 to 34 of the Act are not in the nature of suits. hence, a revision petition against revisional orders setting aside an arbitration award is not maintainable. Where a party seeks to set aside the award on the ground that it is delivered after the time fixed, it is not open to the other party to plead that the first party is estopped from challenging the award on that ground, as there can be no estoppel against statute. When an order granting stay of suit under section 34 is passed by the trial court in the exercise of its discretion, it will not be interfered with readily. The fact that the appellate court would have taken a different view if the decision had rested with it, would not justify interference with the trial court s exercise of discretion. No appeal lies from the opinion on the court upon a special case stated by the arbitrator with regard to a question of law arising in the course of the reference. The opinion of the Judge in the special case on a point of law not being a judgment, the jurisdiction of the court in revision to correct errors in the opinion, can not be invoked. Limitation The limitation for appeals under this section of the Arbitration Act is governed by Article Limitation Act, 1963 which is as under : 116, 116. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 : a) to a High Court from any decree or order order Ninety days The date of the decree or b) To any other court from any decree or order order Thirty days The date of the decree or The Limitation Act and the Code of Civil Procedure have to be read together becausee both are statutes relating to procedure and they are in para material and, therefore, to be taken together as one system as explanatory of each other. 7