Two steps towards doing business easily! Govt clears ordinances for speedy settlement of disputes

Giving impetus to ease of doing business, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared two ordinances for speedy settlement of commercial disputes in India.

The ordinances were cleared to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and bring into force the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 pending before a Parliamentary standing committee.

Last year in December, the Cabinet had given its approval to amend the Arbitration Act but it was never sent to the President for approval.

To fix commercial disputes, the Cabinet earlier passed a bill to amend the Arbitration Act to fix a timeline for arbitrators to resolve cases, however, the bill was never introduced in Parliament.

As per the proposed amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, an arbitrator will have to settle a case within 18 months.

However, after the completion of 12 months, certain restrictions will be put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on, the sources said.

(Image: Indiatimes)