Stamp Duty Ruling to Strengthen Arbitration Agreements in India

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India has strengthened arbitration agreements by ruling that unstamped documents containing such clauses will not be considered void.

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The Court unanimously overturned a previous 5-judge bench decision in NN Global Mercantile Pvt Ltd

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In the leading 213-page judgement, the bench comprehensively analyzed the provisions of both statutes and relevant case laws.

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The Court underlined the doctrine of competence-competence in empowering arbitrators to rule on their own jurisdiction.

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In his concurring opinion, Justice Khanna elaborated on party autonomy and separability being the cornerstones of arbitration.

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She said it would boost FDI confidence since investors prefer arbitration over unwieldy court proceedings.

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