NEW DELHI: The industry department has proposed allowing companies to go in for voluntary Arbitration without having to seek court permission, a move aimed at making it easier for firms to resolve disputes. According to a senior official, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has written to the ministry of justice to amend the alternate dispute mechanism under the Arbitration Act to do away with court-led procedures of resolving commercial disputes.
“Arbitration in India is court driven and has to be initiated by a judge… We want to encourage mediation that is voluntary,” the official, who did not wish to be named, told ET. In the World Bank’s Doing Business report, India ranks 172 among 190 countries on the parameter of enforcing contracts.