Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Shri Surya Kant said the credibility of India’s dispute resolution mechanisms will increasingly influence how investors assess the country as a reliable destination for sustained investment.
“Globalization ultimately depends not only upon the movement of capital, but upon the stability of expectations. Arbitration provides that stability. It reassures investors, supports commercial partnerships, and ensures that disagreement does not become disruption,” CJI Surya Kant said while delivering the inaugural address at the 5th Edition of ICA International Conference on “Arbitration in the Era of Globalization- Legal Technology, Economic Development & Cross-Border Disputes in New Delhi on Friday.
Institutional arbitration in India must continue to expand its reach, strengthen professional capacity, and deepen engagement with global best practices, the CJI said.
“Encouraging parties, particularly public sector bodies and large commercial entities, to adopt institutional rules more frequently, will play an important role in this transition,” he added.
The CJI further said that Institutional arbitration can contribute significantly to the development of specialised arbitration capacity—both at the Bar and within Arbitral Panels.
“Expanding such capacity and infrastructure across the country will enhance India’s position as a global hub for arbitration.”
Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Delhi Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu said, “As the country deepens its global partnerships and advances its development goals, strengthening arbitration aligns with the need for a predictable and rules-based environment for commerce. Delhi, as the national capital, holds a unique position, in this ecosystem. It is home to key institutions of governance, including the Supreme Court of India, central ministries, regulatory authorities, and a wide range of diplomatic missions. It also hosts, leading law firms, arbitration practitioners, and corporate entities. This concentration of institutional, legal, and commercial activity, provides Delhi with a natural advantage, in emerging as a centre for arbitration, and legal services. The development of Delhi, as a global arbitration hub is not merely a matter of infrastructure, but of institutional alignment, and sustained policy support.”
Dr. N. G. Khaitan, President, ICA & Senior Partner, Khaitan & Co.:
“India is one of the safest harbours to do business in the world today. The time has come that we must promote institutional arbitration. India provides and offers the cheapest institutional arbitration in the world. We have 2 million lawyers and 70,000 lawyers graduate every year. Our laws and judgments of Supreme Court are being referred in many countries of the world. They look at it with great respect. India should also be promoted as a destination for global arbitration.”
Shri Arun Chawla, Director General, ICA & Former Director General, FICCI:
“As global commerce becomes more inter-connected, we are simultaneously witnessing increasing geo-political shifts, regulatory divergence and economic uncertainties, it then falls upon emerging powers and civilisations like India to ask some defining questions: Is globalisation only about expanding markets or equally about strengthening the system that sustain trust across borders? And it’s time for India to play a more prominent role in shaping the rules of a new global order that is driven not only by profit but also certainty, fairness and rule of law. Answering these questions is critical to ensure the mutually beneficial sustenance of a globalised and multilateral system that would facilitate cross border commence. In this context, today arbitration and mediation have emerged as a cornerstone of investor safety and trustworthy mechanism across the global.”
About ICA:
The Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA). Established in 1965 under the initiatives of the Government of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), ICA has grown over the years into an institution of national importance. It provides a fair, efficient, and cost-effective arbitration process for parties across all sectors of the economy, including cross-border commercial disputes Today, ICA represents a membership of over 6,500, comprising chambers of commerce, industry associations, leading corporations, and distinguished professionals
