Author: Lex Arbitrate Secretariat

34.1 The parties may settle their dispute at any stage. The Tribunal shall, at the request of the parties, record the settlement as an award on agreed terms under Section 30 of the Act, provided the settlement is not contrary to law or public policy.

35.1 The Tribunal shall, at the first case management conference and at subsequent appropriate stages, enquire whether the parties wish to explore settlement or mediation, and shall facilitate such exploration without pressure on either party.

36.1 The Centre administers the following integrated ADR tracks; parties may invoke any of them in the first instance or, where appropriate, migrate between them under institutional supervision:

36.1.1 Structured Negotiation. Institution-facilitated, time-boxed at twenty-one (21) or forty-five (45) days. A negotiation convenor is appointed from the Mediator Panel. Exit to mediation or arbitration is by party election.

36.1.2 Mediation. Under the Mediation Act, 2023. Two sub-tracks: Commercial Mediation and Pre-Litigation Mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, where applicable.

36.1.3 Arbitration. Under these Rules, in the four Tracks under Part IV.

36.1.4 Arb-Med-Arb. Under Article 37.

36.1.5 Med-Arb. Under Article 38.

36.1.6 Emergency Arbitrator. Under Article 17.

36.1.7 Two-Tier Institutional Review. Under Part XII.

36.1.8 Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).

(a) Commercial ODR: a documents-only sole-arbitrator procedure for low-value, uncomplicated-fact disputes, operated on the institutional filing portal. (b) Consumer ODR: high-volume, standardised ODR for consumer-platform disputes under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, read with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

36.1.9 Expert Determination. Under the Expert Determination Protocol.

37.1 At any stage, the parties may jointly request that the arbitration be stayed to permit mediation under the Lex Arbitrate Mediation Rules.

37.2 The arbitration shall be stayed for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, extendable once on joint application.

37.3 If the mediation results in a settlement, the settlement shall, at the parties’ request, be recorded by the Tribunal as an award on agreed terms.

37.4 If the mediation does not result in a settlement, the arbitration shall resume from the stage at which it was stayed.

37.5 Except with the written consent of all parties, the mediator shall not serve as arbitrator in the same or any related dispute, and the arbitrator shall not serve as mediator.

38.1 Where the parties jointly and expressly so elect in writing, a mediator may subsequently serve as arbitrator in the same dispute (Med-Arb), subject to:

38.1.1 written informed consent of all parties, recorded after full disclosure of the risks and safeguards; 38.1.2 disclosure by the mediator of any circumstance within the Orange or Red Lists of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, 2024, which shall be treated for this purpose as a mandatory disclosure trigger; 38.1.3 a clean break between mediation and arbitration, recorded by procedural order, including a statement that ex parte communications during the mediation phase shall not influence the arbitral determination; 38.1.4 continuing confidentiality of the mediation communications, save as disclosed with written consent.

38.2 Where, in the Tribunal’s or Registrar’s view, the integrity of the arbitration cannot be preserved notwithstanding the safeguards, the Registrar shall decline to confirm the Med-Arb appointment.

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39.1 Where the Tribunal consists of more than one arbitrator, any award or other decision shall be made by a majority. In the absence of a majority, the presiding arbitrator shall decide.

39.2 The award shall be in writing, shall state the reasons on which it is based unless the parties have agreed otherwise or it is an award on agreed terms, and shall be signed by the arbitrators.

39.3 The award shall state its date and the seat of arbitration.

40.1 The Tribunal shall render the final award within the target period applicable to the Track under Article 13, calculated from constitution.

40.2 The Registrar may, on application of the Tribunal and for good cause recorded in writing, extend the period. Extensions shall be the exception, not the rule, and shall be counted against the Tribunal’s performance record maintained by the Centre.

40.3 Where the Tribunal exceeds the period without an extension, the Registrar shall invoke Level 4 of the Timeline Enforcement Protocol.

24.1 The Tribunal shall hold a case management conference within twenty-one (21) days of its constitution, or within ten (10) days in Small-Value or Express Track proceedings.

24.2 At the case management conference, the Tribunal shall, in consultation with the parties:

24.2.1 fix the procedural calendar, including dates for pleadings, Pre-Evidence Discovery, Evidence Stage, hearings, and award; 24.2.2 identify the preliminary issues, if any, for determination under Article 19; 24.2.3 consider whether the arbitration is suitable for Arb-Med-Arb under Article 37; 24.2.4 determine the scope and mode of Pre-Evidence Discovery under Article 16; 24.2.5 fix the language, hearing locations, and mode of hearings (physical, virtual, or hybrid); 24.2.6 fix the deposit payable under Schedule I; 24.2.7 issue Procedural Order No. 1 recording the above.

26.1 The language of the arbitration shall be as agreed by the parties. Failing agreement, the language shall be English.

26.2 The Tribunal may direct that any document filed in a language other than the language of the arbitration be accompanied by a translation.