The provisions of Section 29A were introduced into the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act) with effect from 23 October 2015 by Act 3 of 2016. In 2019 Section 29A of the Arbitration Act was amended in order to improve the efficiency of arbitration proceedings in India. By reducing the time limit for making an award, the objective of the amendment is to help parties resolve their disputes more quickly. The amendment to Section 29A has been welcomed by many stakeholders in the arbitration community in India. They believe that the amendment will help to reduce the backlog of arbitration cases in India and make arbitration a more attractive option for resolving disputes.
Section 29A sets out a time limit for arbitral tribunals to make an award. The section was amended in 2019 to reduce the time limit from 18 months to 12 months.
The unamended Section 29A of the A&C Act provided that:
"The award in matters other than international commercial arbitration shall be made by the arbitral tribunal within a period of eighteen months from the date of entering upon the reference."
The amended Section 29A provides that:
"The award in matters other than international commercial arbitration shall be made by the arbitral tribunal within a period of twelve months from the date of completion of pleadings under sub-section (4) of section 23."
The amendment to Section 29A also clarified that the time limit starts running from the date on which the arbitral proceedings are completed, and not from the date on which the arbitrator is appointed.
The amendment to Section 29A is procedural in nature and can be applied to all arbitrations that were pending on the date of its coming into force. This means that even if an arbitration commenced before the amendment came into force, the arbitral tribunal is still bound by the 12-month time limit for making an award.
2019 amendment to Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act) is procedural in nature. This means that it only changes the procedure for how arbitrations are conducted, and does not affect the substantive rights of the parties involved. As such, the amendment can be applied retrospectively to all arbitrations that were pending on the date of its coming into force.
The amendment to Section 29A changed the time limit for an arbitral tribunal to make an award from 18 months to 12 months. It also clarified that the time limit starts running from the date on which the arbitral proceedings are completed, and not from the date on which the arbitrator is appointed.
In a recent decision Harkirat Singh Sodhi vs. Oram Foods Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. 1 the Delhi High Court has held that the 2019 amendment to Section 29A is procedural in nature and would apply to all arbitrations that were pending on the date of its coming into force. The court reasoned that the amendment did not change the substantive rights of the parties involved, but only changed the procedure for how arbitrations are conducted. As such, the court held that the amendment would not violate the principle of non-retroactivity of procedural laws.
The amendment does not change the substantive rights of the parties involved. The parties still have the same right to a fair hearing and to a reasoned award. The amendment only changes the procedure for how arbitrations are conducted. The parties still have the same right to appoint arbitrators, to participate in the arbitral proceedings, and to challenge the award.
Overall, the 2019 amendment to Section 29A is a procedural change and is intended to improve the efficiency of arbitration proceedings. By reducing the time limit for making an award, the amendment is designed to help parties resolve their disputes more quickly. The amendment is not retrospective in nature and can be applied to all arbitrations that were pending on the date of its coming into force.
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1. O.M.P. (MISC). (COMM.) 186/2021