Arbitration :

Any civil dispute which a Civil Court is competent to hear can be resolved by Arbitration. However Arbitration cannot be used in respect of disputes, the resolution of which, have been by law referred exclusively to specialised tribunals or other statutory authorities.

The process of arbitration can be usefully applied in cases/disputes relating to the following such as:
• Civil engineering disputes.
• Transactions of public sector undertakings
• Shipping transactions
• Intellectual Property matters
• Disputes with or amongst members of Chambers of Commerce/ Trade Associations
• Property disputes
• Partnership disputes
• Banking transactions
• Insurance transactions
• Foreign collaborations and joint venture transactions, etc.

The NPAC has its own rules that govern the process of arbitration.

The NPAC Secretariat provides all the administrative services for the proper conduct of the arbitral proceedings.

Model Arbitration Clause :

Disputes may be referred to NPAC, Chennai through a procedure administered by the Centre in two ways:
1. By insertion of a clause in a contract providing for the reference of all disputes in relation to or arising out of that contract between the parties.
2. By a separate agreement providing for the reference of an existing dispute to NPAC for arbitration in accordance with its rules.

Clause to be included in the contracts to be entered for Institutional Arbitration:

Any claim, dispute or difference relating to or arising out of this agreement shall be referred to the arbitration of the Nani Palkhivala Arbitration Centre currently functioning at New No. 22, Karpagambal Nagar, Mylapore, Chennai-600004, which will appoint the Sole Arbitrator and will conduct the Arbitration in accordance with its rules for conduct of Arbitration proceedings then in force and applicable to the proceedings.

If the parties desire to appoint three arbitrators, then while each of the parties shall appoint one Arbitrator, the Centre will appoint the third arbitrator who shall act as the Presiding Arbitrator. Such arbitration shall be the sole and exclusive remedy between the parties with respect to all such disputes. The arbitration shall take place in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the proceedings shall be in English. The Arbitration Award shall be final and binding on the parties.

Rules Book:

Institutional Arbitration:

One of the objectives of the NPAC is to promote institutional arbitration. In this regard, NPAC institutional rules are made available to the parties and arbitrators and organisations. NPAC institutional rules and clauses can be incorporated in all existing and pre-existing contracts between the parties with prior intimation to NPAC.

NPAC’s panel of arbitrators has outstanding persons of eminence representing the bar, commerce, education, trade, and industry. It includes retired judges of various High Courts, former civil servants (IAS and IPS), chartered engineers, chartered accountants, senior counsels of the Supreme Court and Madras High Court

Ad hoc Arbitration:

Ad hoc arbitration is a proceeding that is not administered by others and requires the parties to make their own arrangements for selection of arbitrators and for designation of rules, applicable law, procedures and administrative support. The primary advantage of ad hoc arbitration is flexibility, which enables the parties to decide upon the dispute resolution procedure. This necessarily requires a greater degree of effort, co-operation, and expertise of the parties in determination of the arbitration rules. A distinct disadvantage of the ad hoc approach is that its effectiveness may be dependent upon the willingness of the parties to agree upon procedures at a time when they are already in dispute. Failure of one or both of the parties to cooperate in facilitating the arbitration can result in an undue expenditure of time in resolving the issues.

Institutional Arbitration:

One of the goals of the NPAC is to promote institutional arbitration. In this regard, institutional rules are made available to the parties, arbitrators, and institutions. NPAC has its own institutional rules which could be incorporated in all existing and pre-existing contracts between the parties.

NPAC’s panel of arbitrators has outstanding persons of eminence representing the bar, commerce, education, trade, and industry. It includes retired judges of various High Courts, former civil servants (IAS and IPS), chartered engineers, chartered accountants, senior counsels of the Supreme Court and Madras High Court