<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Arbitration may soon become the defining pillar of India&rsquo;s dispute resolution landscape if the vision laid out at the Gujarat High Court&rsquo;s two-day conference is realized.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Conference on Arbitration Law, held on 20&ndash;21 September at the Gujarat High Court auditorium, brought together some of the country&rsquo;s foremost judges, advocates, and policymakers. The event was organized in collaboration with the Gujarat State Judicial Academy and streamed live for wider participation.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chief Justice of Gujarat, Smt. Sunita Agarwal, opened the gathering with a clear message: arbitration and allied models must not remain confined to metropolitan centres.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">&ldquo;This Conference marks an important milestone in advancing arbitration in Gujarat. If arbitration, mediation, and hybrid models are to succeed in India, their strength must be felt not only in metros, but in every district and taluka court,&rdquo; she said.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Delivering the keynote, Justice N. V. Anjaria of the Supreme Court placed arbitration in a historical and global context, from Vedic-era Panchayats to the modern concept of &ldquo;multi-door courthouses.&rdquo; He underlined its advantages: speed, fairness, affordability, and above all, party autonomy.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">&ldquo;The unique feature of arbitration is that parties choose their own judges. This ensures control over proceedings and removes the trust deficit often felt in traditional courts,&rdquo; he noted.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Across multiple sessions chaired by senior judges including Justice Hima Kohli, Justice C. Hari Shankar, and Justice Bhargav D. Karia, panelists debated referral powers of courts, challenges to arbitrators, interim measures, enforcement of awards, and the principle of equality in arbitration. Seasoned advocates like Kamal Trivedi, Darius Khambhata, Gourab Banerji, Balbir Singh, Nakul Dewan, and others shared insights from decades of practice.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The concluding word came from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who pointed to integrity and credibility as the biggest challenges.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">&ldquo;The real problem is whether we can give litigants the confidence that arbitration is not only faster but trustworthy,&rdquo; he said, urging Gujarat to build a robust institutional centre capable of drawing cases not just from across India but internationally.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The conference ended on a note of cautious optimism that Gujarat, with its legal acumen and commercial vibrancy, could soon emerge as a hub of institutional arbitration rivaling Singapore.</span></div>
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Top judges and lawyers push for faster, fairer arbitration in Gujarat

Gujarat HC Sparks Arbitration Debate

Top judges and lawyers push for faster, fairer arbitration in Gujarat

September 27, 2025 | 10:45 IST